Of Trappers and Arrows
by BeyondTheClouds777
Summary: A what if take on HTTYD2. What if Hiccup had met Valka earlier on in the film, shortly after fleeing Eret and his band of Dragon Trappers? What if Hiccup was hurt, and Astrid was desperate to save his life? Maybe she would just have to trust this dragon lady...really, what other choice did she have?
1. Chapter 1

**Enjoy. Only thing I'm gonna say. **

"Dragon army?" Astrid questioned to the strange man, who appeared to have known them (that, or he had the entire wrong impersonation of who he was talking to).

"Look, we don't want any trouble," said Hiccup.

"Ha!" the dragon trapper laughed. "You should have thought of that before you stole all of our dragons and blasted our fort to bits

"What are you... talking about?" Astrid questioned. Really, this guy was _crazy_.

"You think _we_ did this?" said Hiccup.

"Ha," said the dragon trapper. "Dragon trapping is hard enough work as it is without do-gooder Dragon Riders sneaking in to rescue them."

"What do-gooder- There are other Dragon Riders?" Hiccup asked, almost in awe.

"You mean, other than your thieving friend from last night?" the man frowned. "You tell me. You may have an ice-spitting dragon on your side but I still have a quota to fill. How'd you suppose we explain this to Drago Bludvist?"

"Drago What-vist?" Hiccup asked. "Does _anything_ you say make sense?"

"He's expecting a new shipment of dragons for his army by tomorrow," one of the other dragon trappers stated. Another one agreed, "And Drago don't take well to excuses."

"This is what he gave me last time I showed up empty handed," said the trapper that appeared to be the leader. He showed Astrid and Hiccup a deep scar on his shoulder. "He promised to be far less understanding in the future."

"Alright," said Hiccup. Really, he was having _enough _of this, "we don't know anything about a dragon thief or an ice-spitting dragon..."

Unbeknownst to them, Eret nodded to men hidden behind Hiccup, Astrid and Toothless.

"...or your lunatic boss and his dragon army, okay?" Hiccup continued. "Just give us back our dragon and we'll go, strange, hostile person whom we've never met."

"Oh, where are my manners?" said the head dragon trapper. "Ha, I'm Eret, son of Eret. Finest dragon trapper alive, after all it's not just anyone who can capture a Night Fury.

Beside Hiccup, Toothless growled.

"And this is Toothless," said Hiccup, "he says we're going. Now."

Eret laughed. "They all say that. Rush 'em, lads!"

The hidden dragon trappers attacked from nowhere. Toothless fired at a large icicle, blasting into the path, blocking the attacking trappers. They all shrieked and backed away in alarm. Hiccup raced forward, wielding Inferno, slashing wildly at the bonds that held Stormfly. They snapped in just another instant, leaving the dragon free. Hiccup sheathed his weapon and raced back to Toothless. They were _going_. Boy, were they _going_.

"Stormfly, come on!" Astrid encouraged. "Go! Go!"

Bolas and weapons starting heaving straight in their direction. The trappers weren't really aiming; just trying to bring down one of them.

"You will _never_ hold onto those dragons!" Eret shouted. "You hear me?! Drago is coming for them all!"

They were just heading back to Berk, almost out of range. And I say almost for an important reason.

Hiccup didn't realize the arrow heading straight for him, until he felt a splitting, blinding pain in his side. It was literally blinding; when he opened his eyes, it appeared a white, blurry landscape of nothingness.

"HICCUP!" Astrid screamed. Wait..._screamed? _Since when did Fearless Astrid Hofferson _scream _in terror?

Hiccup opened his eyes again, blinking repeatedly to relieve himself of the fuzzy, spinny images that flashed before his eyes. When he finally saw what was happening, he realized that he and Toothless were plummeting straight for the ocean. It was coming up close...too close. _Dangerously _close.

Hiccup yanked on Toothless' saddlehorn, practically jamming his prosthetic unceremoniously into the foot petal. It must have slipped out between the time Hiccup was shot by the arrow and now.

Oh, right. Hiccup had almost forgotten he had an _arrow _sticking out of his side.

They just barely missed the ocean, Toothless skimming the water ever so slightly. Hiccup yanked again, and Toothless got the hint. He soared upwards, back into the clouds.

"HICCUP!" Astrid shouted again. "Are you okay?"

"FINE!" said Hiccup. "Yeah, just an arrow in my side...I've had worse!" He cringed. "NOT sarcasm!"

"NOT funny!" said Astrid. She didn't like to be reminded of past experiences. "We have to land!"

"Where!?" said Hiccup. "Oh, wait a minute, I have an idea! Let's go back and see if those dragon trappers want to offer us a room! Where else do we go, Astrid!? There is no where else!"

"Stop talking!" said Astrid. "Just stop talking! You're only making it...Hiccup!" She was about to point out the fact that talking would just make his heart pump faster, causing him to lose more blood from the wound, but apparently, it was too late to warn him. He fell sideways over Toothless, unconscious.

Toothless shrieked, not because he could no longer fly, but because his rider was free falling without consciousness. Toothless roared.

"Stormfly, fetch!" said Astrid. Stormfly did as she was told, grabbing Hiccup by the ankle just before he slammed into the ocean.

Toothless crashed into the sea, grabbing onto a chunk of ice to keep him afloat. Astrid felt awful for leaving the dragon, but Stormfly couldn't carry him, and Hiccup needed some sort of medical attention. Astrid had to find a place to land. Fast.

"Make it to shore, Toothless!" Astrid shouted. "I will find you! Just make it to shore!"

_What _shore? she thought. She couldn't even find a shore!

"Just...stay alive!" she shouted. "I'll be back!"

Then, she turned and headed off in the opposite direction.

Toothless couldn't stay up. He watched as his rider was carried off by Stormfly, and there was nothing he could do about it. He just watched Hiccup get shot, and it was possible he would never know whether or not he made it.

He slipped off the ice, sinking into the unforgiving, cold ocean. As long as Hiccup was okay, though, so would he. He would be okay, as long as his master was. He saw dark shapes looming towards him. Other dragons, he realized, probably out to eat him. He closed his eyes, not knowing that the dragons were taking him to a safe haven.

A Dragon Sanctuary.


	2. Chapter 2

**If any of you were wondering why I started posting this story when it wasn't even on my poll, well, the reason is, when I have an idea for something, I can't write something else without rushing it horribly. For instance, I wrote "Wolves" (a one-shot) while writing "Plasma Blast" because I couldn't work on "Plasma Blast" without rushing it, because "Wolves" was in the front of my mind. **

**Anyways, Happy Thanksgiving! I won't be doing many updates today, because of said holiday. So, enjoy this chapter, and have a great rest of the day! Happy Thanksgiving, have a free virtual miniature thanksgiving dinner for you and your dragons (for those who have them). Thanks! :D**

Astrid felt horrible for leaving Toothless, but really, she didn't have much of a choice. It was leave Toothless to find land, or try to think up a plan of saving him while Hiccup bled to death in her arms.

The choice was a bit obvious, don't you think?

Still, though, she felt awful for leaving him. He knew how serious it was, but he didn't know whether or not Hiccup would survive. And really, if it were Astrid in his place, she would have been having a major freak out fest.

Earlier on in their flight, Astrid had landed Stormfly temporarily on a large block of ice. She had pulled Hiccup to his feet (which was hard, since he was unconscious. Not very heavy, but unconscious), gotten him and herself back on Stormfly, and then told the dragon to head off in a search of real land.

It was challenging, though, finding land was. Astrid didn't know the area. And the fog and snow didn't help one bit. At first, they had headed straight for Berk, but then a blizzard washed in from nowhere, to the point where Astrid didn't even know which way was up and which way was down. So, she decided to keep flying straight. Straight, and hope something worked out.

Unfortunately, although it did get them out of the blizzard, it didn't get them out of their problem. Astrid ripped a piece of fabric off her skirt (using caution she missed any of the spikes) and pressed it to the arrow wound, wounding it around the ammo that was still deep in Hiccup's skin. She had tried to pull it out, but then found it near impossible. She would have to land and do it. No other way around it.

But landing would be a problem, adding onto their list. Where was there _to _land? Moreover, _safe _to land?

Astrid steered Stormfly through the clouds. By the looks of it, it was nearing the evening. She had lost count of how many hours they had been flying, but now, she was desperate. She _had _to find land. If she didn't...

Hiccup was paling more and more by the second. It almost hurt Astrid to look at him. She had to land, treat his wound, maybe find help, somewhere, somehow, find another inhabited island...but what were the chances of _that _happening?

And then, out in the distance, Astrid saw something that looked almost like a lion's mane...only it was made out of ice. Sharp, solid ice that shot up in every direction. It looked remarkably like the ice mess the dragon trappers from earlier had been complaining about.

At first, she was worried they had come in a complete circle, and then she was relieved when she learned that this was an entirely different area. The ice-thingamajig was located solidly on an island, not looking like it would either melt or collapse at any given moment.

Astrid breathed a breath of relief. A place to land. Good. Hopefully, if anyone lived there, they wouldn't have a problem. But that was crazy. No one would live there. Or, at least Astrid hoped they wouldn't.

She quickly landed Stormfly in front of the structure and then dismounted, pulling Hiccup with her. He was half-conscious, just barely aware enough to stay on his feet if Astrid supported his weight, but he didn't look good. She knew she had to do something. Fast. But what?

"Help!" she shouted, hoping something or someone would hear her. Part of her was worried if more dragon trappers lived there, that they would just be captured, but the other part was screaming that if she didn't try, Hiccup would die. "Anyone!"

Suddenly, a dragon dropped out of the sky, landing a few feet in front of Astrid. Hiccup jumped slightly, moaning and stumbling back against Astrid afterwards, regretting he had even tried to move. Astrid tightened her grip around him as she watched a figure dismount...

Wait. Dismount? Were there other dragon riders?

Well, apparently, there were, from what the dragon trappers had said...but they had also said that their leader (Drago Bludvist?) was building a dragon army. For all she knew, this being could have been Drago himself.

She watched with bated breath as the figure slowly stepped towards them. He or she was wearing a horned mask, so any facial expressions were hidden; any features unexposed. By what Astrid saw of the clothes he or she wore in the bad lighting, she learned that it was a skirt, made from different types of animal skins, or something like that.

A female, then. Strange. Was Drago a girl? Was this person Drago at all?

Astrid finally let herself speak.

"Who are you?" Astrid asked, not letting her voice betray any emotion.

...

Valka looked at the two figures in front of her, and then the dragon behind the two young looking people. One of them was a girl, wearing a spiked skirt with blue leggings and a red shirt. Her hair was blonde; braided to the side.

The other was obviously a boy, clad in light leather armor, short, auburnish hair from what Valka could tell in the bad lighting, half-closed eyes, nothing else distinguishable. She did notice, however, that he was missing a leg, replaced with a metal prosthetic that sparkled slightly against the slight moonlight.

She also realized that he had an arrow sticking out of his side. Her natural instinct would be to treat the wound, whether he was friend or foe, but if he was working for Drago, she couldn't help either one of them. She would have to take them prisoner, or...or worse.

The dragon behind them was a Nadder, Valka noticed easily. One of the more common dragons. But who were these two people? They certainly didn't look like trappers, but Valka wasn't taking any chances.

"Who are you?" the girl spoke.

Valka didn't answer. Instead, she waited to see if the girl would speak again; maybe give some more information about herself without really thinking about it.

"Did you hear me?" the girl asked again. "Hello? Are you...ahh, what's his name...Drago Bludvist?"

Valka decided not to answer, either. For all she knew, this girl could have been playing dumb, trying to get info out of Valka. But no, she wasn't going to allow _that_. She wasn't going to let any dragon trapper leave to go tell Drago of her forces.

"Actually, you know what? I don't care," the girl said. "You could be Drago, you could be a trapper, you could be a no one...someone just marooned here for some odd reason...but my friend really needs help."

She wasn't lying, Valka knew.

"We were ambushed by Drago's trappers," the blonde girl continued. "And...my friend here was shot." For some reason, she wasn't using names. Probably because she didn't want to give away information. Same reason as Valka. "I can't treat it, and..." she looked at Valka when the woman didn't respond. "CAN YOU NOT HEAR ME!?" she suddenly shouted. "He's DYING! CAN YOU HEAR THAT!?"

"How do I know you're not on Drago's side?" said Valka.

"How do you know...this boy was _SHOT_ by one of his men!" said the girl in an almost outrage. Valka was slowly beginning to like her, the way she spoke boldly to defend one of her friends. But Valka still wasn't taking any chances. She held onto the fact that the girl could have been lying about the entire thing.

Then, for the first time since they had landed, the boy spoke. His voice was weak, but just loud enough for Valka to hear it, although it was clear she hadn't been intended to be able to do so.

"Astrid..." he whispered, "I might pass out."

So that was the girl's name? Astrid. For some reason, that name sounded slightly familiar to Valka, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"I know, Hiccup," said the girl (or, Astrid). Wait a minute..._Hiccup? _Did this girl just call the boy _Hiccup? _"Just hang on a few more minutes, okay?"

"Hiccup?" Valka repeated, almost in awe. Was this really him? Hiccup? "No. It's not possible."

"What's not possible?" Astrid snapped, clearly irritated.

"Astrid..." said the boy (Hiccup?). Then, he sank to the ground with a pain-filled moan. And the lighting changed just enough for Valka to see a small scar on his chin. That was it. This was Hiccup. That scar Cloudjumper had given Hiccup on accident, the day Valka had been abducted by dragons. She was awed, but didn't have much time to be amazed.

"HICCUP!" Astrid shrieked. She quickly collapsed beside him, wrapping her arms around him to keep him in an upright position.

That was enough for Valka. This was Hiccup. This was her son, whom she had not seen for twenty years. Valka took off her helmet, tossed it to the ground and ran forward instantly, falling to her knees in front of Astrid and Hiccup.

Astrid shot her a glare, hugging Hiccup tighter. Valka didn't blame her; it was obvious she and Hiccup were close by the way Astrid had been being so protective over him.

"I want to help," said Valka, sounding probably more pathetic than she had intended to.

"Sure you do," said Astrid with an eye roll. "How do I know you're not Drago? That you won't kill us as soon as I let my guard down?"

That was a strange question, yet Valka could tell the girl expected her to answer it accordingly. How did she answer it, though? Valka didn't know.

"The boy will die if I don't help him," snapped Valka. Calling Hiccup "boy" sounded strange, since he was twenty by math, but okay. Not that anyone would have cared. "Is he worth the risk to you?"

Instantly, Astrid's face changed from pure hatred to extreme horror. She tried to come back with some witty remark, but she couldn't think of any. She held onto Hiccup with one hand, and then drew her axe in the other, her face flashing with anger once more.

"Try anything against either of us," said Astrid, "and I'll make sure you'll regret it."

"Deal," said Valka, probably too fast, but she was desperate. She couldn't watch Hiccup bleed out while she did nothing. Astrid was unbelievably gentle as she laid Hiccup down on the ground in front of her, making sure her axe was close enough to Valka so it reminded her of the constant threat. Valka paid no heed to it, though, at that time.

"You never did tell me," said Astrid. "What is your name? Are you Drago?"

"Valka," Valka didn't even hesitate. She didn't want Astrid to think she was just faking a name. "No, I am not Drago, nor am I for him. I am entirely against him. I train dragons, rescue them, and protect them."


	3. Chapter 3

**OKAY OKAY OKAY THIS IS IMPORTANT PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE _PLEASE _READ THE FOLLOWING: I am sorry for what I am about to say, but it cannot be helped. Recently, I've been rushing my stories because of how busy I've been. So, I will be going on temporary hiatus and returning in January, 2015 (this coming January). I am sorry, but it has been crazy for me recently, and the entire month of December will be even more so. So, yeah. I will be going crazy in January, though on updates, so watch out. And again, I'm SORRY for all this, but I don't want to rush. I have a few shout-outs to answer some questions by my reviewers:**

**Night fury demon: In answer to your question: I will explain this in the easiest way I know how to. First, you need to make a fanfiction account. After that, access your account. I use a computer, so I will explain how to do it on a computer: on the left hand side of the screen, there is a sidebar with different options. One of the bars will be labled "Publish." Click that, and then it will open more options. Click "Doc Manager" and then it will take you to a page. There will be three thingies (I don't know what to call them). One of them says "Label" (which, to the right of it, has a bar where you type in information). The one below it says "Method" (where there are two selections, one says "File Upload" and the other says "Copy-N-Paste"), and then the one underneath it says "Format" (where there are also two selections, one of which says "Story" and the other of which says "DocX"). One of the easiest ways for me to explain how to post Fanfictions is to first write your chapter. Select the "Copy-N-Paste" on the "Method" area and then write out (or copy and paste) your first chapter onto the given area (it looks sort of like the place where you leave reviews on different stories). After you finish that, label your chapter (it doesn't have to be fancy; normally, I just call it by the stories initials and then put a number indicating which chapter it is). On the "Format" section, click the "Story" option (nothing big will happen). Once you do all that, scroll down. Beneath the "Format", there will be a grey, square button that says "Submit Document." Click that, and your work will save. ****Moving on...right underneath the "Doc Manager" button there will be one that says "New Story." Click that, and it will take you to a page where you select witch category your story falls in (sometimes, it will ask you to read the rules and regulations. When that happens, read them, scroll down, click the 'I have read the rules and regulations' thingy and then go back to the "New Story" icon). After selecting which category your story falls in, click "Continue" to move on. It should take you to a page full of stuff. There will be a "Title" tab, followed by a place where you type out your title. After doing that, write out a summary (the place to write it out is right under the "Title"). Then, you select a Genre (I think I spelled it right) for your story (Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Humor, Family, etc.), a story rating (K-which is like G in movies-, K+-which is like PG in movies-T-which is like PG-13 in movies-, and then M-which is like R in the world of movies), and then pick the content language (English, Spanish, etc.). After that, there is a label that says "Document." To the right of that, there is a line that says "Select Document." Click that, and it will show you all the documents in your Doc Manager. Click on the one you would like to post, and then scroll down a bit and type in the captcha code. After that, click "Publish New Story", and there you go! (sometimes they will tell you that you entered the Captcha code incorrectly, and you have to type it again, but nothing else). I really hope this helped, **Night fury demon. I know I'm not the best at explaining things, but I tried my best. Thank you for reading my stories, and I hope to see some of yours one day! :D** **

****Lord Jaric: This is just a small thing. I think after the "For the Dancing and the Dreaming" scene, the fic will end with HTTYD2 continuing as it did in the movies. :) ****

Hiccup groaned, and instantly, Valka and Astrid were broken away from their thoughts.

"We have to take him in if I'm going to remove the arrow," said Valka.

Astrid looked at her, shocked. They just met, and yet this woman suddenly thought Astrid was just going to sit back while she yanked an arrow out of her best friend's side? Nope, not happening.

"Not for the life of me," said Astrid. "Tell me what to do, and _I _willdo it." She was that desperate and distrusting towards Valka and anyone she met at that point. So what she claimed she trained and protected dragons? For all Astrid knew, she could have been lying, making up a story, cheating her and Hiccup, trying to get them to trust her just so she could yank back and kill them both.

Valka shook her head. "I can't," she said. "It's too complicated."

"Well, I'm not going to let you-" Astrid started.

Hiccup cried out in pain. It was beginning to get unbearable. Normally, he hated arrows in his side as much as the next person, but this was different. The arrow seemed as if it were meant to bring pain; bring agony; bring suffering.

"Okay, okay, do it!" said Astrid. "Just do it!"

Hiccup woke up. He looked around, first to Astrid, not seeming to notice a second figure beside the Berkian.

"Hey, what happened?" he said. "I had this weird dream we were flying and then I was...whoa!" He sat up suddenly, his eyes falling on his injury.

"What?" said Astrid.

He took in a breath, putting up one finger for just a moment before speaking. "There's an arrow sticking out of me," he said, pointing to it, saying it as if it were as easy as saying _Pass the salt_. "No, there is an _arrow..._sticking out of _me..._"

"Yes, I know, we're..._I'm _trying to get rid of it," said Astrid. "Just-"

"Weird," he said. "Should I, like..._do something_, or...?"

"Yes," said Astrid. "Stop talking. Please. The more you talk, the worse you make your wound."

"Okay...WHOA who is that!?" he shouted, finally realizing Valka's presence.

"I don't know," said Astrid.

"What?" said Hiccup. "You don't...wow, arrow wounds hurt." He was so calm about it, it was almost terrifying. But Astrid liked that about him; he knew when to be calm.

"Yeah," said Astrid. "I bet. Just hang on another minute, it'll get better, I promise. It'll be okay. Okay? For now, just relax."

Valka was just hoping Astrid would trust her. Because if she didn't, there was no way she could help Hiccup. She couldn't tell Astrid that she was Hiccup's mother at that point. It could just trigger more doubt in Astrid's mind; make her think Valka was just lying in order to win the two of them over. But she did have to help Hiccup, though.

Hiccup nodded, and then slumped up against her, his eyes closed, though he was still conscious.

"Come," said Valka, rising to a stand. Her son? Alive? She almost couldn't comprehend it. But she didn't have much time to think otherwise. Her son wouldn't be alive for much longer unless she did something about that arrow wound. "I can take him on my dragon..."

"No way," said Astrid. She was shocked the woman so much as _thought _it was okay to do something like that. Astrid still wasn't about to trust her, no matter what she said about dragons; no matter how on their side she may have seemed."_I _take him, or we don't take him at all."

"Okay," said Valka. She turned and mounted Cloudjumper, watching Astrid pull Hiccup to his feel, whispering encouraging words to him the whole time. She pulled him and herself onto her own dragon and then faced Valka.

"Oookay," she said. "Now what?"

"Follow me," said Valka. Without waiting for a response, she turned Cloudjumper, and then headed for the entrance into the ice cave. Astrid had no choice but to follow, keeping one arm around Hiccup, making sure she didn't touch anywhere near the arrowed area, her other hand wrapped firmly around her axe handle. She leaned herself and Hiccup over Stormfly's neck as far as possible. If Valka somehow had archers on her side that were hiding, she didn't want to be sitting upright.

She followed Valka through a hole in the ice, leading inside a darkened cavern. Astrid couldn't see anything except a small light coming from inside what looked like an overhang. From what she was able to make out in the darkness of night, it was a large, open area, probably with a massive capacity. Anything that big would have to be that huge for a reason. Astrid feared the worst. Unbeknownst to herself, she gripped her axe tighter.

"You wanna tell me where we're going?" said Astrid.

Valka decided not to answer. Cloudjumper turned and headed inside Valka's cave, where he landed and allowed her to dismount. Astrid came in closely behind on Stormfly, hesitating little (although she did at first, ever so slightly) before landing. She slid off Stormfly's back as easily as she could, keeping her axe still drawn while also fighting to keep Hiccup on his feet.

Valka wanted to offer help, but then knew Astrid would just shun any attempt, and decided against it. The young girl seemed irritated enough already with Valka; and Valka didn't want to do anything to make it worse.

"Remember," said Astrid, breaking Valka out of her thoughts, "I still have this." She held her axe in front of her, showing off the polished, well-sharpened blade. Valka didn't even back down. She had been tempted to throw back, "If you hurt me, you'll have to answer to all the dragons in the sanctuary," and then realized that that statement sounded almost like a declaration of war. Almost as if daring Astrid to make the first move.

Really, they didn't need to be enemies. Especially since her and Hiccup seemed so close. When the time came for her to tell them both the relationship she shared with Hiccup, she didn't want them to be in the middle of a fight, and then randomly shout, "Oh, and by the way, I'm your mother."

Would that really work? No.

Hiccup moaned and leaned his head against Astrid's shoulder. Astrid shot Valka a somewhat harsh glance, waiting for her to say something. She had said she'd wanted to help. Why the sudden silence?

"Come on, bring him over here," said Valka as if reading her thoughts, gesturing to her makeshift bed. Astrid stumbled over, clutching Hiccup as tight as she dared, not wanting to hurt him further. She put him down carefully on his back, making sure he didn't lay in a way that would cause him more pain.

"Okay, what do I do?" said Astrid. "To help, I mean." She didn't trust this woman touching Hiccup at all, but at this point, she didn't have another option. Well, she did, but that was letting Hiccup die, and she wasn't going to allow that even if her very own life depended on it.

"Wait here for a minute," said Valka. She knew they had to move quickly; by how pale Hiccup looked, it was apparent he had already lost a dangerously large amount of blood. They didn't have much time left.

She stood up and ran to the back of the cave, gathering herbs and long, slightly thick fabrics that would work as bandages. Years of dragon attacks had taught her what to do should an accident occur. And this was an accident. She heated some water over her makeshift hearth and then started assembling a small medicine. She knew she had to hurry. They were running out of time.

Astrid watched as Valka disappeared. Just where did she think _she _was going? She was supposed to be _helping _them, and then she just runs off without a word of saying why or when she would return? It angered Astrid to no end. Any other day, it wouldn't have been a problem. But now it was, with Hiccup dying.

She waited for Valka to return, having mixed feelings all the same.


	4. Chapter 4

**The fact that I went on hiatus with this story in progress really bothers me. :) So, I will be finishing this one up, and then going on hiatus until January for real this time! What I will probably do is every few months go on a one month hiatus (two months posting, one month not, and so on), just so I don't rush. So...SURPRISE, and MERRY CHRISTMAS! Just so you all know, I will post something on December 25 if all goes well, so look for that! Have fun! :) **

Why was Hiccup still conscious?

Astrid was tempted to just order him to pass out, not that he would listen, or anything. Really, though, if someone was removing an arrow from _her _side, she would have liked to be unaware of the situation.

But Hiccup was still awake, although he spoke little, coming in and out of reality. He would sometimes ask Astrid if she was still there, and other times ask her if she was alright, and then ask if she'd seen any sign of Toothless, and then slip back into an oblivion for another thirty seconds before waking up with a few more questions.

Valka returned running a second later, her arms full of tattered looking cloths and longer ones that looked like bandages. She was holding a bucket of steaming liquid that smelled remarkably of rotting herbs, running as fast as she dared, not wanting to spill any of it.

"Look who finally decided to come _back_," said Astrid, her voice laced with sarcasm.

"Who came back?" Hiccup mumbled, barely audible. "Astrid, what's going on...?"

"It's okay, I promise," said Astrid.

Valka put everything down next to Hiccup and then sat down beside her supplies. She grabbed one of the cloths, soaked it in the liquid, and then rang it out several times, but not enough to drain all the water from it. Then, she carefully lifted it over the wound (still penetrated by the arrow) and then squeezed it again. Hot water ran over her hands and then onto the injury.

Hiccup gasped, almost screaming, but not doing so for Astrid's sake. He would just make it harder on her if he did that. Astrid, however, took his hand in hers casually and then looked back to Valka, almost frantically, although she held her axe in the other hand, ready to use it if that's what it came down to.

"I have to do it," said Valka.

"Then do it and get it over with!" said Astrid demandingly. She heard her voice crack, and instantly hated herself for it. She wasn't supposed to be showing any weakness to this woman. She was supposed to be strong; not only for show, but also for Hiccup. He needed her to be strong for him.

Valka took a dagger out of her pile of supplies and then cut a small part of Hiccup's shirt away from the arrow wound so she could see it better. She breathed sharply through her teeth, and then frowned.

She had learned from experience how to deal with arrow wounds, but she hated the procedure. And doing it on her _son_...when he was _conscious_...

Instead of taking time to think about it, she just got straight to work, pretending she was working on a dragon that had been shot. She had worked on dragons' wounds hundreds of times in the past. She only hoped it didn't hurt as much as it sounded like it would.

She held the dagger in one hand, holding firmly to the shaft of the arrow in the other. She would do it quickly, get it over with, and then bandage it immediately.

She hated herself for what she did next, even if it was saving Hiccup's life. It wasn't in very deep, but it was still an arrow. She couldn't just _yank _it out. That could either damage internal body parts, or cause more bleeding. She would have to _take _it out...with a dagger.

As quickly as possibly could, she slid the dagger alongside the arrow, and then turned it so it came in underneath the arrowhead. Hiccup yelped, and before anyone could do anything else, Valka shoved the dagger upwards, pushing the arrowhead free. Then, she pulled the arrow out the rest of the way by the shaft. Hiccup screamed, probably louder than Valka had ever heard anyone scream before. And it was worse, since this was her son, whom she hadn't seen in twenty years.

How did they reunite after twenty years? An arrow, a dagger, and then screaming; that's how they reunited.

_Great first impression, Valka, _she thought bitterly against herself, _GREAT first impression_.

Valka threw the arrow across the room with disgust, followed by her dagger. She grabbed another rag, threw it into the bucket, drew it out, and then, without ringing it out the least bit, pushed it against Hiccup's wound.

Hiccup's screaming turned into pained moans and random cries when Valka pressed the soaked rag to his injury, but he was visibly relaxing. He was physically drained of energy, completely exhausted, gasping and wincing with every breath he took.

Astrid had held onto his hand the entire time, and now leaned over his chest, resting her head against it, listening to his heartbeat, relieved that it was still there. This had been too much for Astrid; listening to him scream, watching him in pain with nothing she was able to do except try and keep him calm.

Valka herself was bandaging the wound, wrapping over and over and over again, unaware of how many layers of cloth she was using, not caring if she used ten or a hundred. She had about a million questions. And then there was that Night Fury the dragons brought back sitting at the back of her mind.

Astrid had her own dragon. Did that mean that Berk had changed? Or had Astrid trained the dragon, and then left without anyone knowing, taking Hiccup with her? That was a thought, but judging by the clothes both Hiccup and Astrid were wearing (not worn, tattered or ripped), it disqualified them as runaways. And then the shoulder pad on Hiccup's armor was the same that matched the prosthetic on the Night Fury's tail. Was that his dragon?

Had Berk changed for the better? How did Hiccup get a _Night Fury? _Valka had never actually seen one up close before, and when her dragons brought that last one back, she wasn't able to examine it very much. It was snarling, and she wasn't able to train it. If Hiccup was its master, then that would explain why.

There were still so many unanswered questions: how did the Night Fury lose its left tailfin? Was it Drago? A trapper? And how did Hiccup lose his leg? That was one of the biggest questions Valka had. While she had lived on Berk, seeing people with missing limbs was quite common. But this was different. This was her son.

"What now?" Astrid broke Valka out of her thoughts, intentionally or unintentionally, Valka didn't know. "Remember, if you try to hurt either one of us, I promise you will regret it. We will take you back to Berk, and slam you in prison. You'll never get out."

"I'm not trying to hurt you!" said Valka, suddenly angry. Why didn't Astrid just trust her, especially now, after all Valka had done? Then, in a much calmer tone, she added, "I'm trying to help you."

Astrid wasn't fazed, just curious. "Why, though?" she said. "Why help us if you have nothing to gain?" She said _if _because she was still holding on to the possibility that Valka was just trying to hurt them. "Why save us? What's it to you? Why would you care if we lived or died?" She relaxed slightly. Part of her believed Valka. It took talent to lie to someone like Astrid. She could always see right through it. But Valka...there was something about her that seemed..._strange_, almost; different; curious; more like a dragon than a human.

"Who are you, really?" said Astrid. "And don't just tell me a first name, either. Tell it to me how it is."

Valka didn't lie to her. Besides, she and Hiccup were visibly close. What was the point in making something up? The only thing she decided not to tell them yet was that she was Hiccup's mother. That could really throw Astrid off. "My name is Valka, as I have already stated," she said. "I have lived among dragons for twenty years, fight against Drago at every chance I have. My dragon's name is Cloudjumper, and he is a bit protective." Behind them, Cloudjumper growled in agreement. "There's really not much else to know about me," said Valka. "Now, why don't you tell me about you?"

"Twenty years?" said Hiccup. Astrid tried not to look astonished; although she had been sure he was sleeping. "You've lived among dragons for twenty years?" Valka nodded. "Wow," Hiccup breathed. "I've only lived among them for _five _years, and that alone is incredible. _Twenty _years, though, that's...that's awesome."

Valka nodded. "So...Hiccup, right?" she said, although she already knew. When Hiccup nodded, she continued. "Could you tell me a little bit more about yourself?" she asked. "I think I know enough about Astrid."

"Yeah, I guess," he said. "My name is Hiccup Haddock. Don't ask for a full name, it's too long." So far, it sounded like the Hiccup Valka had left behind on Berk. "I am twenty, a dragon trainer, son of Chief Stoick the Vast, heir to the Hooligan tribe. I have a Night Fury named Toothless..." His voice turned into one filled with panic, and he sat up. "Toothless!" he said. "What happened to him!?"

Astrid pushed him back down. "We don't know," she said.

"We have to find him!" said Hiccup, trying to sit up again, failing when Astrid kept pushing him back down. "Seriously, Astrid!"

"I think I might know where..._Toothless _is," said Valka. Toothless? Peculiar name for a Night Fury, especially the one Valka had seen. He most _certainly _had teeth; lots of them, too, and sharp ones, on top of that.

"You know where Toothless is?" Hiccup asked, almost hopefully. "Where!?"

"Hang on a second," she said. Valka nodded to Cloudjumper, who instantly knew what she wanted. Cloudjumper headed off, deeper into the sanctuary, to retrieve a certain Night Fury.

Toothless? What a funny name.


	5. Chapter 5

**Did 'ya miss me? No? Okay. :) 'Tis I, here to finish up this story. I will be finishing it up today, by the way, and then going back into hiatus until January. I will, however, be writing a Christmas piece. :) So, yeah. Shout-outs: **

**xFaerieValkyriex: Thanks! Yeah, I don't like stress...it's very..._stressful_, I guess. :) And YES, it was so sad when Hiccup and Toothless were separated and I thought "Oh no TOOOOTHHHHLEEEESS!" and then he was rescued and I'm like "YYYAAAAAYYY!"**

**Edlover23: Thanks for reviewing! Yeah, me too! **

**ScarletNightFury: I know, right? I LOVE the name Toothless! In fact, if I ever have a black cat, I'm probably going to name him Toothless. :)**

**Jesusfreak: Thanks! For some reason, I especially liked that last chapter when I was writing it just because...I don't know. :) Merry Christmas to you, three! :) **

**Night fury demon: I'm glad you like it! And I will finish this up today, so yeah. :) **

**ADayWithNoLaughterIsADayWasted: Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! All my reviewers are so amazingly awesome. :) **

**silverwolvesarecool: Aaah, it's good to be back, Sil. :) I missed you guys!**

**Glee Clue Rock 1251: Thank you! I'm glad you liked it! **

**Malik The Night Angel: Thank you for the review! :D **

**Breyannia: Thanks! I'm glad you like it! Makes me go into SUPER HAPPY MODE! *does little dance that looks totally awkward* :D**

**Guest: THANKS! :D **

**Lord Jaric: Ah, I know what you mean. But she was saving Hiccup, so I think Toothless'll forgive her. :) Thanks for the review, by the way. **

**flame: AAAH I AM SO GLAD YOU LIKE IT! *dances* *crashes into bookshelf* *falls over* *stands up* Okay, yeah, maybe I shouldn't dance. HAHA! **

Toothless curled up in the corner, isolating himself from the rest of the dragons in Valka's sanctuary. He refused to come out. He had nearly taken off Valka's hand when she tried to pet him; that was for Hiccup and the other Berkians to do. His _friends_. Although he was certain Valka wouldn't hurt him, he wasn't going to allow himself to get distracted.

At that moment, the only thing on his mind was Hiccup, his rider, his master, whom he had let get shot and carried away by Astrid on Stormfly. Of course, he was fine with Hiccup finding help, but he wanted to know where and how he was, at least.

Then, Cloudjumper flew in, and without another word, grabbed Toothless in his claws and headed back in the direction of which he came. Toothless struggled, and then stopped abruptly when they reached their destination. Cloudjumper dropped him, and allowed him to run up to his rider.

Hiccup had never been so happy to see Toothless in his entire life. He sat up as his dragon ran forward, coating him in a thick spray of dragon saliva. For the first time in forever, Hiccup didn't protest.

"Toothless!" he said, resting his head against his dragon's. He pulled back and stared into Toothless' eyes. "Bad dragon, very bad dragon!" he said, but he was smiling. "You scared me to death! Don't _EVER _do anything like that again!"

Valka watched the scene. Yes, this was Hiccup's dragon, and by the looks of it, they were close. _Very _close. Hiccup had mentioned living among the dragons for five years; he had probably known Toothless for the same amount.

"How did you find him?" said Astrid. She had her own questions that needed answering. Why was Toothless _here_? Did Valka capture him? Was he a prisoner? Did Valka plan to keep her, Toothless and Hiccup _prisoners, _too? "Where did you find him? What's he doing here?"

"My dragons found him at sea," said Valka. "They brought him here. I don't know where he came from, but I think I do now." She nodded to Hiccup, still playfully scolding Toothless while the dragon carried a grin on his face.

Still, though, it sounded a little strange. He had teeth.

"Why the name Toothless?" she asked.

Hiccup shrugged. "It was really the first thing I had actually said to him when I found him," he said. "I guess the name kind of stuck after that. Besides, I think he likes it." Toothless cooed in agreement.

Valka couldn't help but smile. But she still had her own questions. "So, you're from Berk, from what you said about being the heir of the Hooligan tribe," she said to Hiccup. Hiccup nodded. "They train dragons, now?"

"Well, yeah," said Hiccup. "They've kind of moved in. People have changed in the last five years."

Slowly but surely, Astrid was feeling more and more comfortable around Valka. She didn't trust her entirely, but she knew Valka hadn't lied about a single thing so far. Plus, she had saved Hiccup's life. And to Astrid, anyone who did that deserved a second chance.

"Is that so?" said Valka. She shook her head. The Berkians? Changing? What about Stoick? It seemed impossible. "How did all that come to be?"

"It's...ah...a rather interesting story, actually," said Hiccup. "But it really didn't cost anyone much." He gestured to his prosthetic. "Just me, actually."

So Hiccup lost his leg for Berk. Valka felt a strange sense of pride. Her son had ended the war between dragons and vikings. And she hadn't even been there to see it.

She felt a pang of guilt plague her instantly; how did Hiccup cope when he lost his leg? What about the months that followed the event? She couldn't imagine it had been easy. And where had she been the whole time? Sitting around with the dragons instead of with her family. Should she even _tell _Hiccup that she was his mother? He might hate her for abandoning him.

"So, Valka, I believe," said Astrid, "how did you come to be here?"

"I..." Valka hesitated. Now, she had the choice: tell Hiccup and Astrid of her life on Berk, or keep it a secret. She couldn't lie to either of them, though. One of them was bound to see through it. And even if they didn't, she couldn't lie to her own son. Especially after abandoning him for twenty years. Still, she could have told them it was a "touchy subject", too, without lying. But he needed to know. _They _needed to know, Hiccup and Astrid alike.

"I once lived on Berk," said Valka. That was it. Here it came. "I was abducted by dragons, twenty years ago. Cloudjumper specifically." She rubbed her dragon's chin, for either reassurance or gesture, she didn't know. "I learned the truth about dragons, yet never thought to go back. I thought that maybe, just maybe, the Berkians, you two included, would have been better without me. I couldn't put anyone in danger just because I couldn't kill a dragon."

The story stunned and shocked Hiccup and Astrid, leaving them to think it over.

"I couldn't kill one, either, when it came to it," said Hiccup, breaking the settling silence. "I guess you and I have a lot in common."

Hearing that hurt a lot more than Valka would have known possible. He hadn't figured it out on his own. By the hesitation in his voice, he was really thinking about it; trying to piece it together.

"Yes," she said finally, nodding towards her son, although he didn't know that he was. "Yes, you and I have a lot more in common than you realize, Hiccup."

"That's...insanely creepy," said Hiccup, and frowned slightly. "What do you mean? What are you talking abo...oh man." He looked at Valka, suddenly shocked. Valka nodded. He had pieced the puzzle together; he had figured out what Valka meant. "No, it can't...it can't be..." he said. "It's...it's not possible!"

"What's not possible!?" shouted Astrid, suddenly angry. "What is it!? What's not...Hiccup, tell me!"

Hiccup only continued to stare at the woman he now knew as his mother. Valka stared back at him, both relieved and worried. Relieved he had figured it out without her having to tell him, and worried at what he might say.

"Well, cool," he said. Then fainted.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello all you wonderful people who are more awesome than me, it is I! BeyondTheClouds777 here to give you this WONDERFUL (maybe, I don't know. I hope it's wonderful) chapter. I hope you like it, and there should be two more chapters after this. It rolls into HTTYD2 after Stoick meets Valka, just so everyone knows. :) Enjoy, I will do shout-outs the next chapter. My e-mail won't load *stomps foot* **

"What just happened!?" said Astrid.

Hiccup woke up again and stared at Valka.

"You're..._my mother_," he said, hesitating. Was this woman _really _his _MOTHER? _"No, I mean...you're seriously my mother."

"Your _mother_!?" Astrid questioned. "How is that even possible!?"

"I'll tell you," said Valka.

_FLASHBACK _

"Berk was a land of kill or be killed," said Valka, "but I thought peace was possible." _'Stop! You'll only make it worse!' _It was a very unpopular opinion. _'Hiccup!' _Then, one night, a dragon broke into our house, finding you in a cradle. I rushed to protect you, but what I saw was proof of everything I believed. This wasn't a vicious beast, but an intelligent, gentle creature whose soul reflected my own.

'_Valka, run!'_

'_No! Don't!' _

'_Hold on!' _

'_No...Ahhhh, Stoick!' _

'_Valka!' _

'_Stoick!' _

'_Valka...' _

_END OF FLASHBACK_

"You and your father nearly died that night," said Valka, "all because I couldn't kill a dragon."

"Runs in the family," said Hiccup.

"It broke my heart to stay away," said Valka, either not noticing Hiccup's comment, or just ignoring it, "but I thought he'd be safer if I did." She motioned behind them. "Actually, there is something I want to show you. Please, come."

Hiccup stood up, leaning on Toothless. He felt like he could walk, at least, as long as Toothless helped him. They followed Valka through tunnels, in between boulders, until they came to a large, open area, full of...

"Dragons..." Hiccup breathed.

Dragons. Dragons everywhere. Hiccup had never seen so many dragons before in his life (except maybe that time they battled the Red Death, when all the dragons in the nest scattered).

"This is where you've been?" Hiccup asked. "For twenty years?" Valka nodded. "You've been rescuing them?" Hiccup continued. Valka nodded again. "Unbelievable..."

"You're not upset?" Valka asked, worried that he was.

"What?" said Hiccup. "No. Well...it's a bit much to get my head around, to be frank. It's not everyday you find out that your mother is some kind of...crazy, feral, vigilantly dragon lady."

"Oh," Valka laughed. "At least I'm not boring...right?"

"Well, I suppose there is that one specific thing," Hiccup smiled.

"Do you...do you like it?" Valka asked, hesitating slightly.

"I-I...don't have the words," Hiccup offered.

Toothless suddenly found himself surrounded by baby dragons. Frustrated, he roared, smiling in satisfaction when he watched them scatter in different directions. Valka looked at him, and then back at Hiccup.

"Can-can I?" she asked. Hiccup nodded. "Oh, he's _beautiful_," Valka said, holding her hand out to Toothless. The dragon nuzzled up against her, and rubbed against her side. Valka laughed. "Oh _incredible_," she breathed. "He may very well be the last of his kind." Toothless flipped over in front of her. Valka gazed at his chin. "Oh, and look!" she said. "He's your age!"

Hiccup smiled.

"Ha, no wonder you get along so well!" said Valka. Toothless then sheathed his teeth, giving her a gummy smile. "And retractable teeth!" said Valka. "How did you manage?"

"I found him in the woods," said Hiccup. "He was...shot down, and wounded." He nodded, slightly embarrassed, knowing he was the one who did it.

Valka stood up and walked over to a dragon with only three feet. "This Snafflefang lost his leg to one of Drago Bludvist's iron traps," she said. "This Raincutter has her wing sliced, by razor netting. And this poor Hobblegrunt was blinded by a tree share, and then left to die, alone and scared." She walked back over to Toothless, Astrid and Hiccup. "And what of this?" she asked, running her hand along Toothless' prosthetic. "Did Drago and his trappers do this too?"

Hiccup laughed awkwardly. ":Well, um, the crazy thing is..._I'm_, actually the one who, shot him down." Valka stared at him. "Hey, it's...it's okay though, he got me back, right bud?" Toothless grunted in agreement. "You couldn't save all of me, could you? You just had to make it even. So...peg-leg!" He gestured to his prosthetic, and smiled.

"How did you survive?" asked Astrid in complete awe.

"Oh, Cloudjumper never meant to hurt me," said Valka. "He must have thought I belonged here, in the home of the Great Bewilderbeast!" She walked to the side of a small ledge, and looked over. Then, a dragon stood. Hiccup and Astrid gasped. It was huge, white, with tusks that could have made a Red Death jealous.

"The Alpha species," Valka explained. "One of the very few that still exist." The dragon huffed. "Every nest has its Queen, ah, but _this _is the KING of all Dragons! With his icy breath this graceful giant built out nest. A safe haven for dragons, everywhere."

"Wait, that's the ide spitter?" Hiccup asked. His tone was distinguishable. There was no anger or blame in his voice. "He's responsible for all that destruction."

"He protects us," said Valka, quick to defend, "we all live under his care, and his command." She looked and saw a bunch of hatchling dragons bouncing all over the Alpha. "All but the babies, of course, who listen to no one. I've lived with them for twenty years, Hiccup, learning their ways, discovering their secrets." Hiccup looked at the Bewilderbeast, and then closed his eyes when the giant breathed on him. It froze his bangs, leaving them covered in frost.

Valka laughed gently. "He likes ya," she said.

"Wow," Hiccup breathed, ruffling the ice out of his hair.

"Are you two hungry?" said Valka.

"Astrid?" Hiccup asked.

"Uh, yeah, I guess," said Astrid. Truth be told, she was starving.

"I guess we could eat," said Hiccup.

"Good," said Valka. "It's feeding time. I suppose you two should wait here, since you're still recovering from everything, Hiccup." Hiccup nodded. "I'll be back in a little while, don't worry. I'll bring you two and your dragons something to eat."

Hiccup and Astrid, followed by Toothless and Stormfly headed back into the cave. Hiccup couldn't stop thinking.

His mother.

He had a _mother_.


	7. Chapter 7

**Guess what I have decided? I have decided to make this story a bit longer. And by a bit, I really mean three or four chapters longer than my original "eight chapter fanfic" idea. :) This is really one of my favorite stories I have written so far for some reason (I'm not so certain why, though, if just is), and I have decided to make it longer. **

**So, maybe I haven't been quite realistic enough. If you have noticed, in chapter one, Hiccup was _shot_. And I believe I have slightly forgotten that fact throughout the fic (even though I have really been focusing on that mainly), and have decided to do more research on this aspect (arrow wounds, blood loss, etc.), even though I don't quite like researching stuff like that. So, I guess that means I won't be finishing this as fast as I wanted to, but maybe it's better that way. :) So now, I suppose I have some shout-outs to catch up on. Without further adieu: **

**TigerLily the Wild: Yeah, I know what you mean. While watching it in the theaters, I was hoping Valka and Hiccup would have this really sweet Mother/Son moment when Hiccup tells her how he lost his leg and everything, and then the movie would continue, but that didn't happen, so I decided to put more of it in this take. I'm glad you like it, tough. :) Makes me happy! :D**

**Edlover23: Nice, Hiccup. Very nice. Great first impression. "Hey Mom!" *thud***

**Guest #1: Glad you like it! Thanks for the awesome review!**

**Lord Jaric: Ah, thank you for that. Stormfly...I suppose I kind of forgot about her. XD! Sorry, Stormfly. Stormfly: *huffs* Me: Yeah yeah yeah, sulk all you want. I'm really trying not to rush my chapters. I guess some chapters just flow like that for me, and I can't help but rush it a tad. I'm trying. Thanks for the review! :D And yeah, I suppose Astrid should have said a little bit more. There will be a lot more Valka/Astrid trusting later in chapter 8, so you know. :) _  
><em>**

**Guest #2: Yeah, you're right. Poor Hiccup...he really goes through a lot in my fics, huh? *evil laugh* Sorry about that, Hic. **

**Breyannia: THANKS FOR THE REVIEW! :D **

**Lemon Dropz: Aha, that is an EXCELLENT point! I guess we shall see! Thanks for the review, you are amazing! All my reviewers, followers, readers and everyone else is AMAZING! :D **

**Wanli8970: I have decided to keep going with it until I come to a good stopping place. I have some more things I want to add into it. :D **

**silverwolvesarecool: Thanks! I like the nickname you gave me, too. I forgot to mention it, but the first time I saw it I was like "Aawww! I love it!" And I'm glad you like yours. See you next time, Sil! **

**VulcanTrekkie: AHA! THAT IS BRILLIANT ADVICE, THANK YOU SO MUCH! :D :D :D I will take your advice in some future chapters, even though it might be _ssssliiiiggghhhtttly _difficult to figure out what to write during that time, but then again, I suppose I could think of something! :D THANKS AGAIN! :D **

**freyathefearless: I don't quite remember that last review. My e-mail doesn't always show me everything, so...yeah. Could you give it to me again? And I am going to post "Truth or Dare" and "Snowed In" soon, it's just a matter of getting to it. I have a lot of other ideas I just can't wait to get out there, including that Christmas fic as well. :D Good to hear from you again! Thanks for the awesome review! :D**

**Ninuhuju: Yeah, that was one thing I wished they did more in HTTYD2; involve Astrid more. She's really a great character. :) **

**EVERYONE: OKAY I HAVE A HEADCANON: Hiccup and Astrid are actually engaged in HTTYD2. When Stoick shouts "THAT'S my future daughter-in-law", he could have been being serious, and not just overly-confident that Astrid and Hiccup would be married one day. Besides, throughout the movie, there isn't anything that would have denied it. What I'm hoping for, is in the season final for the forth season of "Dreamworks Dragons", Hiccup actually proposes to Astrid. It's just an idea, don't kill me! :D Not that you would, because then you'd be stuck on the CLIFFFHHHAAANNNGEEERRR! :D But yeah, that's my theory, and I hope that's what happens. AAANNNYYYWAAAYYYS, enough of me talking! I talk like Trader Johan! Enjoy the chapter! Good night!**

Stoick paced back and forth in front of the forge, looking to the sky every now and then, expecting Toothless and Stormfly to fly down at any given moment. But the longer his eyes lingered on the sky, the more worried he became.

Hiccup was never one to stay out late; he knew the dangers of being out after dark far away from Berk, not knowing the territory. He was normally back in the afternoons, at the latest, sometimes even around three or four in the evening. But now, it was the afternoon of the next day since Hiccup had gone on that flight.

He had been gone for nearly twenty four hours.

Not only Hiccup, but Astrid was missing as well. If Astrid was with Hiccup, that made Stoick feel at least a little bit better, but still, he was a father; it was his natural instinct to worry about his child, even if the child had a Night Fury with him.

The Outcasts were their allies, and the Berserkers were gone, but there were other dangers besides those two peoples. There were other dragons out there that could do damage, possibly even more so than Alvin and Dagur had ever been capable of doing. Who knew what kind of trouble they could run in to?

"Stoick!" Gobber greeted as he ran forward as fast as his peg-leg could take him. "Any sign of him and Astrid yet?"

"None," said Stoick. "None at all, Gobber." He sighed. "It's not like Hiccup to stay away like this. He wouldn't stay out so long unless something happened, would he?"

"I don't think so, Stoick," said Gobber. "But, you know that boy. Always getting himself into mischief...sorry, I'm not helping, am I?" he said quickly, noticing the glance Stoick was shooting at him. "I don't think we should worry."

"But I do worry, Gobber," said Stoick. "Everyone on Berk knows that kid attracts danger like a magnet. And Astrid isn't the best influence, either."

"Aye, but she's tough," said Gobber. "She'll sever someone who even so much as _thinks _about hurting Hiccup."

"You seem a lot more confident than I am, Gobber," said Stoick. "But so far, nothing you've said so far has helped at all."

"Sorry about that," said Gobber. "I suppose we should probably go look for them."

Stoick nodded. "I'll get Skullcrusher, and we'll see if we can't track them," he said.

"I'll bring Grump," said Gobber, "not that he'll do any good." From inside the forge, they heard Grump growl unhappily.

"Stop being such a grump, Grump," said Gobber. "You know it's true!"

"Come on, Gobber," said Stoick. "We really should get going, before it gets too late. Who knows what kind of danger Astrid and Hiccup could have gotten themselves into?"

Gobber went into the forge to get Grump up and ready while Stoick headed in the opposite direction to get his dragon. He also went back to his house and grabbed one of Hiccup's shirts for Skullcrusher to track by.

After that, Stoick met Gobber back at the forge. Gobber had already prepared his dragon.

"You ready?" said Gobber.

"Ready," said Stoick. They mounted their dragons, and headed off.

...

"Hiccup, you're shaking."

Hiccup looked at Astrid before looking down at his hands. They _were _shaking, along with the rest of his body. "Can you blame me?" he asked.

"Not really," said Astrid.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." He wrapped his arms around his knees and stared into Astrid's icy blue eyes. "You don't have to worry about me, you know."

"I can't help it," said Astrid. "Really, it's a miracle you're still alive at all, Hiccup."

Hiccup shrugged. "I s'pose you could say that," he said. "But you know me. Always nearly dying and terrifying everyone I know only to live after all in the end." He tried to put humor into his words, but it was clear by Astrid's facial expressions that he was doing the exact opposite.

"That's not the least bit funny," said Astrid. "I seriously thought for a while there that you were going to die. You just keep narrowly avoiding death."

"Yeah," said Hiccup. "Although you must admit, I do a pretty good job of avoiding it."

"You have the driest sense of humor of any person I've ever known," said Astrid. "And when it's not dry, it's sarcastic. Can you really disagree?"

"I don't even know how to _answer _that."

Astrid rolled her eyes. "You okay?"

"Hmm? Oh, fine," he replied. "Just...tired. It's like noon, and I'm tired. I don't get it."

"I think you would get it if you thought about it a little bit more," said Astrid. "I mean, Hiccup, you lost _a lot _of blood."

"Yeah," said Hiccup. "It's a pain. And no, Astrid, that wasn't a joke."

"I know it wasn't," said Astrid. She tried for a smile. "I'm not _blind_."

"It really is a pain, Astrid." Hiccup frowned.

"Is there something I can do?" Astrid asked.

"No," said Hiccup. "Except that you stop worrying."

"You don't _honestly _expect me to do that, do you?" said Astrid.

"Huh? No, not really," said Hiccup. "I just thought why not try."

"It's not going to happen," said Astrid. "You were shot, Hiccup. There...I'm never going to really get over it. I should have done something. I should..."

"Have done what?" said Hiccup. "What could you have done?"

"I don't know," said Astrid. "I just fell like this is my fault. I should have made sure you got out before I took off as fast as possible."

Hiccup shrugged. "Don't worry about it too much," he said. "Please, the more you worry, the more I do."

"Still," said Astrid, rising to her feet and pacing back and forth in front of him, "I can't help but feel like I could have prevented it."

"For one thing," said Hiccup, "you couldn't have done anything. And for another thing...could you stop pacing? You're making my headache worse."

"Headache?" Astrid frowned and approached him.

"I should have picked a different word," Hiccup groaned.

She sat down beside him and tried to meet his eyes. "Is there anything else I should know?" she said.

Hiccup shook his head feverishly; maybe, perhaps,_ too_ quickly. "No, I'm fine," he lied.

"You really expect me to believe that?" Astrid frowned. "Really, Hiccup, you've never been good at hiding anything. Especially from me. I can read you like a book, Hiccup Haddock."

"There are many kinds of books," said Hiccup. "To which are you referring?"

"Don't change the subject," said Astrid.

"When do I do that?"

"You're doing it right now."

"I am?"

"_Hiccuuuuuuup." _

Hiccup put his hands up helplessly. "Okay," he said. "I also feel dizzy."

Astrid nodded. "It's to be expected," she said. "What now?"

"Hmm?"

"What do we do now?" said Astrid.

"Well, I think we should wait," said Hiccup. "I think we should wait, until my..._Mom-" _Man, that sounded weird to say - "gets back."

"Yeah," said Astrid.

"Well, I am glad for one thing," said Hiccup.

"What's that?" said Astrid.

"You were with me," said Hiccup. He smiled. "Thanks, really. If it weren't for you, I would...I would be dead right now."

Astrid shrugged and smiled back. "Well, we can't have that, now can we?" she said. "Next time, though, let's bring bandages of our own."

Hiccup smirked. "And you thought _I _had dry humor."


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry this took me so long. Here it is! :D I don't know how long this fic will go for, but probably not much longer. I probably won't do another update until later on tonight, so...I'm so sorry about that. :) This is my FIRST update today, and I am also working on that Christmas fanfic I promised, so hopefully I get that one out in time for the holidays. :) I will start posting it on Christmas, and probably finish posting it on Christmas. I was thinking...maybe I should do _TWO _if I can get them both out there. Do you want a sneak peak at the titles? Well, here we go: **

**"We Celebrate Them" (which is also on my poll. Yes, I am writing that!) and "A Snoggletog Carol" (I finally got around to reading "A Christmas Carol" and fell in love with it. I just had to write something on it haha). So, there we go. If you have any requests, go ahead. And now...for the shout-outs: **

**Guest #1: Haha! Yeah, I suppose it is! I love Hiccup's sense of humor, though. :) Thanks for the review! **

**Lord Jaric: I'm glad you like it! Yeah, I think it does, too. :) **

**silverwolvesarecool: That's AWESOME! I'll have to look at it sometime. Tell me when it's finished! :D **

**Edlover23: HAHAHA! Mr. Dry Toast! :D Maybe I'll use that sometime. HAHA! Thanks for the awesome review! **

**ADayWithNoLaughterIsADayWasted: Aww, thank you for the reviews so much! :D **

**freyathefearless: Aaaaah...YES, now I remember! The Siren Dragon! YES! CREEPY LEGEND...YAYAYAYAYAAAAAY! I WILL write that sometime, I just don't know when...but it sounds SO AWESOME! YAY! THANK YOU! **

**Jesusfreak: Yep, E-Sharp777's got me hooked on his story, too. BUT HE WON'T TELL ME HOW IT ENDS! *stomps foot* I'm like "Hey Big Brother how does it end?" and he's like "Wait and see!" and I'm just like "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" He's almost as bad about cliffhangers as I am, if not just as bad. :D AND YES, I REALLY REALLY REALLY WANT DREAMWORKS TO DO THAT SO BAD! And...your riddle...my mind doesn't want to think! AGH! Stupid mind, get the answer! Okay...I don't have the answer. I was going to say "Plot" but that's four letters. Hmmm...I'm clueless! **

**TigerLily the Wild: YES I love Hiccstrid. Especially when Hiccup's hurt and Astrid's worried about him. :) Thanks for the review, they keep me going! :D **

**xFaerieValkyriex : Yes, Valka Hurry! :D **

"Are you okay, seriously?" Astrid asked. "You look like you're going to faint."

Hiccup rolled his eyes and offered a smile. "Thanks, Astrid," he said, quite possibly sounding too overenthusiastic, considering the situation. "You make me feel so good about myself!"

"I was being serious," said Astrid.

Hiccup sighed. "I know, I know," he said. "But really, I don't need you to worry about me any more than you already are."

"Sorry, Dragon Boy, not possible," said Astrid.

Hiccup frowned. "Okay, have it your way," he said.

"I plan to," said Astrid. She gestured to the makeshift bed Hiccup was sitting on. "Lay down," she ordered.

"Wait, what?" said Hiccup, turning to her suddenly, his emerald eyes flaring with confusion, mostly, mixed in with a slight pinch of him hoping he had heard her wrong.

"I'm having my way," said Astrid as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "And I said lay down."

"Oh come on, Astrid," Hiccup groaned. Astrid pushed him back down when he tried to get up, and he wasn't strong to fight her on a regular day, much less when he was that weak. "This is...really not fair," he complained.

Astrid smirked. "You bet it's not," she said. "But really, you should get some rest."

"I'm _ooookkkkaaaayy, _Astrid," Hiccup groaned. "Really, really, I'm fine. You can stop worrying."

"No, no I can't," said Astrid. "I'll stop worrying when you're sleeping. And even _then _I'll probably continue to worry."

"_Astrid.._." Hiccup started, his voice trailing off.

"No," said Astrid. "Don't you _'Astrid' _me. You are going to sleep if I have to knock you out myself."

"You wouldn't do that!" said Hiccup.

"OKAY I wouldn't," said Astrid. "Just _please _go to sleep, Hiccup, _please? _It'll make me feel better, really, it will."

"Okay, okay, fine," said Hiccup. "Just so long as you stop worrying."

"For now, maybe," said Astrid.

"Thanks, I guess," said Hiccup. "And you know what?"

"What?" said Astrid.

"I'm _glad _you worry about me," he smiled, and then shrugged uncertainty "To some extent, I suppose."

"Get used to it," said Astrid. "You worry me more than you realize, Hiccup Haddock."

"_Greeeeat,_" Hiccup said, holding the word out probably more than he should have.

"Glad you think so," said Astrid. "So, go to sleep."

Hiccup really didn't need to be told again. His eyes were already closing. He laid back and quickly fell into a peaceful sleep.

Astrid watched him for another hour or so before standing up, heading back towards the entrance to the cave. Toothless and Stormfly looked up at her quickly before laying back down, curling around themselves like tired kittens. Astrid offered both of them a smile and looked out the mouth of the cave. Just as she did, a shadow passed over her. She gasped and stepped backwards, before realizing that it was only Valka returning on Cloudjumper.

Cloudjumper landed in front of the cave and allowed his rider to dismount. Valka did so and approached Astrid, a slight smile on her face.

"You doing alright?" she asked.

Astrid nodded. "Fine," she answered. "Yeah, Hiccup's sleeping, so...yeah, he's sleeping." Why was she at such a loss of words? She was _never _at a loss of words. She always knew what to say, no matter what the situation was. And now, her mind was like a clean slate.

Valka, seemingly not to notice, motioned to Cloudjumper. Cloudjumper approached, and Valka unstrapped the dragon's saddlebag.

"I brought food," said Valka. "You still hungry?"

"Yeah," said Astrid; the only word she found herself able to speak at that moment. Then, she followed Valka back into the cave.

...

A few minutes later, Valka and Astrid both had fish stuck on sticks, hanging over a small fire Valka had started. Stormfly and Cloudjumper were sleeping behind their riders, Toothless curled up around Hiccup.

"So...do you know Hiccup...well?" Valka asked.

Astrid was slightly taken back by the question, and more so the way Valka's voice wavered, almost as if she were nervous.

"Well, yeah, I suppose," said Astrid. "I've known him really for his whole life...well, maybe not. We weren't exactly 'friends' the first fifteen years, so I guess I've really only known him for five."

Valka nodded and glanced over at Hiccup before returning her attention back to Astrid. "What's he like?" she offered.

Astrid nearly choked on her fish. She really hadn't been expecting _that _question by a long shot, but then again, Valka didn't know Hiccup. Well, she _did_, technically; she _was _his mother, after all, but she didn't really _know-know _Hiccup. She didn't know what he liked to do, what he was good at, or anything like that.

"Well...he's...sarcastic, slightly," said Astrid. "Sarcasm for him is more of a defense mechanism, since he's not physically strong. He can't fight with his strength, so he fights with his words."

Valka nodded, silently urging her to continue.

"He's...clever," said Astrid. "The type of clever that makes even _me _feel ignorant. He has a brilliant mind, and is also creative. Some of his ideas are insane, but I suppose sometimes insane is good, to some extent. He's kind, really, too. Puts others before himself, tries not to argue, tries to keep fights from starting...he runs the Dragon Academy back on Berk."

"You have a Dragon Academy?" Valka looked almost excited.

"Yeah, we do," said Astrid. "It's actually a really funny story, how it started and all. Of course it was one of Hiccup's 'insane' ideas that got us into it, really. He trains dragons, too. He was the first Berkian to ever train a dragon...well, besides you, of course."

Valka smiled. "You know," she said, "it's strange to think I don't know anything about my twenty-year-old son."

"Hey, I _live _on the same island as he does, and I _still _don't understand him," said Astrid. "Now that I think about it, I'll probably _never _really truly understand him. He's a very, very, very strange person, really different than your typical viking. But he's got a brilliant mind. And a ton of patience. He runs the Dragon Academy, and let's just say that's a lot harder than it sounds. Not only that, but he also trained a Night Fury without any of us knowing."

"So he's clever, smart, creative, slightly insane, sarcastic, not strong physically, kind, patient, a great leader, and a dragon trainer," said Valka. "Does that pretty much sum it up?"

"Yeah," said Astrid. "But he's also daring. Jumps off Toothless while a thousand feet in the air just for the fun of it."

"And daring," Valka added.

"_Now _you have summed it up," said Astrid.


	9. Chapter 9

**One update yesterday? I feel so bad about myself. I was planning on getting one out yesterday evening, and then I got this idea, and just couldn't leave it out. At first, I was going to just leave this chapter out of the story and now, looking back on it, I am really glad I didn't. :) This is my FIRST update today, and my e-mail won't load, so I will have to do shout-outs on the next chapter. So sorry about that! :( So, one general shout-out: **

** YOU. ARE. SO. MUCH. MORE. AWESOME. THEN. I. AM. **

**Just had to get that out there. :D Enjoy this chapter, and there should be two more. **

Not long after they ate, Astrid fell asleep. Valka had been expecting it, too, so it hadn't surprised her. Who knew what that girl went through getting Hiccup to the sanctuary, and alive at that? Valka sure didn't, meaning she could just assume.

She stood up and moved over to Toothless slowly, not wanting to startle him. Toothless lifted his head, nodding to Valka just slightly before laying back down again. Valka took that as an opportunity and sat down beside Hiccup.

He looked a lot like her; same gangly, skinny build, emerald green eyes and auburn hair. From what Hiccup had said about "not being able to kill a dragon when it came down to it", and plus everything Astrid had told Valka about his personality and such, Hiccup sounded like he had taken after his mother more than Valka had realized at first glance.

Valka had always thought of Hiccup to end up like Stoick: the perfect image of a viking, longing to kill dragons, gaining the approval of the village; but from what she saw now, right in front of her, as plain as day, denied everything she had thought for the past twenty years.

Hiccup wasn't the standard image of a viking, but that didn't mean he wasn't one at all. Valka had never been the "perfect viking" either when she was growing up. She had been (and still often was) clumsy, not wanting the "kill or be killed" rule in the book then, now or ever in the future. And from what she had learned, Hiccup was the same.

Only the last time she had seen him, he had both his feet.

That hurt her more than she thought possible, knowing her son - her _only _son - had lost a leg for Berk, according to what Hiccup had halfheartedly explained earlier, and she hadn't been there. She had known other vikings who had lost limbs in the past, and it was never very easy. She wished for the utmost (and certainly not the last) time that she had been on Berk to help Hiccup through his life.

She looked back to Hiccup quickly, just as she heard him shift. He opened his eyes and blinked up at her, uncertainly at first, before his eyes adjusted and he offered an off-centered smile.

"Hey," he said, moving to sit up, wincing slightly.

Valka helped him into a sitting position and then Hiccup leaned against Toothless. In response, the Night Fury, not even opening his eyes, wrapped his tail around his master and curled around him tighter.

"How are you doing?" Valka asked.

"Can't complain, can't complain," said Hiccup offhandedly. "Well, I _can_, technically, but I _won't_."

Valka smiled, and he smiled back, before he looked to the ground, suddenly finding it to be the most fascinating thing in the world. Valka tried to figure out what it was he was looking at, and then found nothing of great interest.

"Hiccup?" she started.

Hiccup shook his head. "Sorry, I was just thinking," he said, uncertainly. "Um..." He bit his lip, finding himself at a loss of words. "I...um...don't exactly know...hmm...what it's like to, uh, actually have...both my parents, and I guess I'm...sorry, this is really awkward. I'm normally not this poor at speaking...okay, actually I am-"

"Don't worry about it," said Valka. "I forgot what it was like to have a son."

"I mean...it's been twenty years, and..." Hiccup said with a slight smile. "I suppose I don't know how to put it, exactly...I...I'm glad, that's about it. I'm...glad to have met you, Mom. And...okay, that's another thing." He locked eyes with her. "Is there a certain thing you want me to call you, or...?" He paused. "Gosh that sounded weird..."

"No, I get it," said Valka. "Mom is fine."

"Oh, okay, well that makes it simple, I guess," said Hiccup. He smacked his forehead as soon as the words left his mouth. "_Thor, _I am such a _moron-_"

Valka laughed. "Don't be too hard on yourself," she said. "Is there a certain thing you want me to call you?"

"Well, everyone I know calls me by an involuntary spasm, so I suppose you can too," said Hiccup, and shrugged with a smile. "You can call me pretty much whatever you want. It's not as formal...ugh, _again _with the moron-"

"Don't worry about it," said Valka. Really, in her mind, he was acting strangely calm for someone just learning after twenty years of thinking they didn't have a mother that they actually _did _have one.

"I was meaning to ask you..." said Hiccup, "do you...do you have any...I don't know...tips on dragon training?"

"Well, maybe," said Valka.

"Can you please tell me some?" Hiccup asked.

"Sure," said Valka. "The first thing I've learned is to be light on your feet."

"Lucky me only having one," said Hiccup, gesturing roughly to his prosthetic. Now, _Valka _found the ground suddenly interesting. Hiccup looked at her, slightly confused, the other part slightly worried. "Mom...?"

"Nothing," said Valka. She found herself glancing at his prosthetic, still wondering what had happened... "How...how did it happen?"

"How did..." Hiccup started, and then followed her gaze. "Oh," he said. "Um-"

"I understand if you don't want to tell me," said Valka. She had known people back on Berk who, for some reason, found their prosthetic limbs embarrassing and a pain. They hated talking about it as much as dragons hated eels. "Really, I do."

"No, it's not that," said Hiccup quickly; perhaps too quickly, even. "I guess it's just that...it's a touchy subject, for anyone on Berk, really, but especially me."

Valka didn't ask anymore questions.

"But that doesn't mean I'm not going to tell you," said Hiccup. "Where should I start...oh, yeah, probably the night I shot down Toothless. So, I built this catapult like contraption-" Valka leaned forward as he spoke, her eyes sparkling with interest, "-that, for some reason, I called 'The Mangler.' So, I shot Toothless down, but no one believed me, exactly...they didn't like me very much when I was growing up."

"Didn't like you?" Valka frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Now _there's _a touchy subject if I've ever known one," said Hiccup. "I guess they didn't like me because I wasn't exactly the greatest viking ever. I couldn't lift a hammer without dropping it, and I couldn't swing an axe without nearly decapitating myself in the process. But that's past me now. It doesn't matter anymore."

"So anyways," Hiccup continued, "after I found where I shot down Toothless, I just couldn't kill him. I mean...I got ready to, actually. I almost did, too. But I didn't at the last second. I just...I saw myself in him. Scared...trapped...worried...I guess the entire thing, for lack of a better word. And so instead of killing him, I cut him free."

"How did that turn out?" Valka asked.

"Ahh, better than expected," said Hiccup. "Of course, after I was pinned to a rock and roared at in the face, it was smooth sailing. For the most part...anyways. So, I trained Toothless, a process that had its ups and downs, and then from there, I'll skip all the dramatic parts and go straight to the place Toothless and I blew up Godzilla."

"I'm sorry, _what_?" said Valka.

"A Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus," said Hiccup. "To which we Berkians always refer to as the 'Red Death.'"

"A Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus!?" Valka repeated. Hiccup nodded. "That's insane, Hiccup."

"Yeah, well, I guess I am a bit insane," Hiccup shrugged. "So, we drew it into battle, blasted it out of the sky...well, sort of...I was knocked unconscious, and I woke up without a leg after being in a coma one week later, so...yeeeeeep. That's just about it, you know. And then after that, the whole dragon training thing came naturally. By the time I woke up, Astrid and the others had pretty much accomplished the hard parts. And then I was put in charge of the Training Academy, and from there it went from good to great, and from great to amazing."

"How long ago was this?" Valka wondered out loud, just because she was curious.

"Five years ago," said Hiccup casually.

That pained Valka. Hiccup had lost his leg when he was _fifteen_. Fifteen. And she hadn't been _there_.

"Mom, you're doing that thing again, where you stare off into space awkwardly, looking at nothing in particular, and it's making me feel weird," said Hiccup, almost suspiciously. "Is something wrong?"

"No, not really," said Valka. "I just...I wish I could have been there for you, Hiccup. Was it...was it hard, getting used to?"

"To some extent," said Hiccup. "But hey, I had Toothless. Stubborn dragon never let me out of his sight. And when he did, he would track me down, and then pin me to my bed against my will for the rest of the day so I wouldn't wander off."

Valka laughed. "Well, you know dragons," she said. "Once you form a bond, that bond is forever."

"You've got that right," said Hiccup. "And...I'm glad you're not dead after all."


	10. Chapter 10

**Yeah. This is my SECOND update today, and now for some shout-outs! *fistpumps* FINALLY! :D Here we go: **

**Lord Jaric: Thanks! Glad you like it! **

**AnimeAngel: AHAHA! You're right! Mocha is like the Pumkin of Winter. :) And it's good to hear from you again. :D How's Aquaria doin'? **

**silverwolvesarecool: Thank you! :D**

**One Bright Light: YES! I wish there was a little bit more of Mother/Son bonding in HTTYD2, but I suppose you can only put so much into an animated film, after all. :D **

**Edlover23: Yeah, Toothless is an over-protective dragon if I've ever seen one. :D And I love Hiccup/Valka bonding! It's so adorable and sweet and just AH. **

Not too long afterwards, Hiccup leaned back up against Toothless and closed his eyes, once more falling into oblivion. Valka smiled at him and ran her hand through his hair for a few moments before she heard someone else speak up.

"It's more of a touchy subject for us than it is for him."

Valka's head shot in Astrid's direction. Astrid was sitting up, Stormfly laying beside her, almost in the same position.

"You heard that?" said Valka.

"All of it," said Astrid. She smiled and shook her head. "Hiccup's never been able to be too quiet, and now I know where he gets it from."

Valka smiled and laughed softly before she considered Astrid's statement. "What do you mean, 'it's more of a touchy subject for us than it is for him'?" she asked.

"Because," said Astrid, "it's our fault he lost a leg."

"What...do you mean, exactly?" said Valka. "Hiccup didn't say anything like that."

"Of course he didn't," said Astrid. "He's not one to blame someone else for anything. You see...he tried to show us, and we didn't listen. Instead of paying him any attention, the Berkians, once they figured out how to find the nest belonging to the dragons that kept attacking us, they left to take it."

Valka leaned forward.

"There's a lot more to the story then Hiccup let on," said Astrid. "Like how for the first fifteen years of his life, people hated him. They absolutely hated him. They called him 'Hiccup the Useless', actually. We all did. All of us Berkians."

Valka nodded, trying to think about what Astrid had told her.

"Hiccup knew the Berkians didn't stand a chance fighting the Red Death, and no one listened when he tried to tell them that before they left," Astrid went on. "And so you know what he did? It could have been easy. It would have been so easy for him to just say 'Oh, they never cared about me. Why should I care about them?' but he didn't. Instead, he trained the dragons we were supposed to fight, and then we went after the other Berkians. Hiccup and Toothless killed the Red Death at the expense of Hiccup's leg. He saved a village who hated him. And I guess after that, we finally started to see what he was really like. And...I don't know. He forgave us pretty quickly, too. That's another thing. He's forgiving. He's not one to hold a grudge against anyone, once they genuinely apologize."

Valka remained silent, trying to take it all in. There _was a lot _more to the story than Hiccup had originally let on. She tried to think about it, but the more she tried, it seemed that the harder it became.

Hiccup the Useless? Did they really call him that before he lost a leg? Had it really taken him losing a physical part of him to finally get people to enjoy his company? His own island, though...did it really take him nearly dying to finally gain respect in the village he was born of and into? It just didn't seem right.

And Astrid said he had forgiven all of them, too? There was obviously more to Hiccup than Valka had originally thought. No wonder Astrid said she still had yet to understand him.

"And his leg..." Astrid started, bringing Valka out of her thoughts. Astrid suddenly hesitated, glancing over to make sure Hiccup was asleep. "He doesn't know, and we don't tell him," Astrid looked torn between whispering and shouting. "But after we found him unconscious, his leg was just..." Astrid stopped, trying to find the right word. "...gone," she decided. "There was no saving it, so we amputated it, right there, on that accursed island. It was...awful, to say the least. None of us really know what happened exactly that mangled it, but there were tooth marks."

"Tooth marks?" Valka asked.

"Yeah," said Astrid. "Some people believe that Toothless bit his leg in order to save him, but no matter how it happened, the outcome was the same. He lost a leg. And so...that brings us to the now, I suppose. He lost a part of himself to save a village who never accepted him. I guess it was after all that that we Berkians finally started seeing Hiccup for who he was, not for who he wasn't. "

Valka smiled and nodded, still trying to take it all in.

"It's a hard subject to talk about," said Astrid. Valka nodded. She understood, possibly better than Astrid realized. "But sometimes it's good to get it out there. Especially since you're Hiccup's mother...you have the right to know."

"I have a lot to make up with him, I suppose," said Valka.

Astrid nodded. "Well," she said, "you're off to a great start."

"Why do you say that?" said Valka.

"Well..." said Astrid, "you've already saved his life, with the arrow and everything. My mother told me once that the key to building a relationship is to first take it slowly, and wait for them to make the next move."

"That's actually a good idea," said Valka. "Thanks." She looked back at Hiccup and frowned slightly. "I should look at that wound again," she said.

"Oh," said Astrid. "Well, is there something I can do to help?"

"Yes, actually," said Valka. "There is a satchel in the corner..."

Astrid was on her feet, instantly racing to the assigned location. "This one?" she asked, holding up a small satchel.

"Yes, exactly," said Valka. Astrid brought it over and handed it to Valka, who took it and opened it.

"What is it?" said Astrid.

"Just a little bit of medical supplies I managed to get," said Valka. "Back on Berk, I wasn't one to kill, and so for some reason I took to the art of healing. And so when Cloudjumper took me here, I found out that I had actually brought some of this stuff with me."

"What is 'this stuff', quote on quote?" Astrid asked.

"Stitching supplies," said Valka. "I might have to stitch it in order for it to heal properly."

"Oh," Astrid said. Needless to say, she wasn't excited. "Um...he won't..._fell _it, will he?"

"No, of course not," said Valka. _Thank goodness he wouldn't_, Valka thought. "I have something to insure that. I might not even have to stitch it. It was just a maybe." She began to undo Hiccup's bandages, and then looked back at Astrid. "Actually, it's a probably."

"Figured just as much," said Astrid. "Arrow wounds are _nasty _stuff."

"Oh don't even get me _started_," said Valka with a half-smile. "I've lived among dragons for twenty years, and Drago's always trying to take them. He goes to great lengths to get dragons, you know, even to the point of arrows."

"But...he doesn't..._poison _his arrows, does he?" Astrid suddenly thought of the possibility. She had seen poison before, and it wasn't a pretty sight. Hiccup had even been poisoned once or twice by Alvin or Dagur in the past, and Astrid didn't want a repeat.

"Oh thank goodness _no_," said Valka. "No, Drago needs his dragons alive and ready for war. When he does shoot the dragons, he always goes for the wings to down them. And then after that, throws them into battle after poorly treating the wound. There have been a few dragons I've found with arrow wounds. Poor things. Drago is a madman, Astrid."

"Well, his trappers are madmen, so it doesn't surprise me," said Astrid. "It does unsettle me, though."

"Yeah, I do think I'll have to stitch it," said Valka.

"What?" said Astrid.

"The arrow wound, dear," said Valka.

"Oh, right," said Astrid. "Can I do anything?"

"Not at the moment, but thank you," said Valka. "I might a little bit later, though."

"Okay, well I suppose I'll be ready," said Astrid. "And thank you, you know, for everything you're doing."

Valka smiled at the girl. "Any time."


	11. Chapter 11

**Wellp, here ya go. Second to last chapter. This is one of my favorite fanfics that I have written so far, actually. :D This is my THIRD update today, and I hope you all enjoy it. Now, if you guys want me to write the "For the Dancing and the Dreaming" scene, please tell me, because I honestly don't know! :D Shout-outs (thank you e-mail haha): **

**VulcanTrekkie: The Adventures of Studying...fun (sarcasm or not, you pick which one). I want to say thank you for your awesome reviews. They are REALLY REALLY encouraging! :D I love hearing from you, and thanks a bunch! Good luck with your studying, and thanks a ton! :D**

**Mikowmer: I know, I just couldn't think of a better one. Stupid me. HAHA. When I think of one, I'll correct it for sure. Thank you for reviewing! **

**silverwolvesarecool: Me too! Poor Hiccup...I am _SO _not fair to him. Haha. :D **

**Lord Jaric: Yes, I suppose at that point, Astrid was just trying to give Valka an idea about how they treated him. Because, I mean, you can be annoyed and take it differently than you would do when you hate someone. I know the villagers didn't really _hate _Hiccup, they just _treated _him like they did. Thanks for all your reviews, they make me feel soooo happy! :D **

**Ninuhuju: Yes, I love Hiccup and Valka being Mother and Son. I'm so glad Hiccup found her in HTTYD2. :) **

**BloodDragon2626: Funny you should mention...I am actually supposed to be on hiatus right now, but I just can't stay away for very long, so once this fic is finished, I will be off until January (except I will post a special fic on Christmas). I normally try to post two to three times a day (my updating record is eleven chapters in one day), but it really depends. I will post all through January and February, and then go on hiatus for the entire month of March (after finishing any current stories of course), and then come back and update through April and May, and then take off June, and so on. :) **

**Wanli8970: You weren't joking...she just tried to burn my computer, and all I did was ask her her favorite color! *frowns* Oh well...I guess this will be harder than I thought. Any tips? **

**Edlover23: YAY! I love Astrid and Valka getting to know each other. :D **

Valka poured some sharp-smelling liquid over the arrow wound. Hiccup groaned in his sleep, but other than that, made no noise as Valka started working with the stitching.

It took about half an hour for Valka to finish. She and Astrid sat in silence, and the quiet continued as Valka began re-wrapping it. Then, she stood up, packed her supplies away, and looked back at Astrid.

"I should get going," said Valka.

"Going?" Astrid frowned as she spoke. "Going where?"

"I need to patrol the nest," said Valka. "If Drago attacks, we need to be ready at least a little bit before hand."

"Oh, okay," said Astrid. In truth, she was a bit disappointed. She had been wanting to talk to Valka more about different things, such as what she did with the dragons in the past twenty years, ask her what different things she had learned about them, and so on. But, Astrid guessed there was time for that later. If Drago and his trappers really _were _putting together a dragon army, they were all in danger.

Valka turned and walked outside the cave, Cloudjumper following her without even being told to do so.

"Valka, wait a second!" Astrid called, jumping to her feet and racing towards Valka. Valka stopped and turned around to face her. "I'm...I'm sorry I was being so hard on you earlier," said Astrid. "I just didn't want anything else to happen to Hiccup, and...never mind. It's no excuse. You didn't do anything to make me act the way I acted. And I'm sorry."

"I understand," said Valka. "And thank you, for taking care of Hiccup." She offered Astrid a smile, which Astrid returned twofold as she watched Valka walk out of the cave. As soon as Valka and her dragon were outside, Valka mounted him and took off.

Astrid sighed and went over to Hiccup. Toothless perked up slightly before laying down once more, ignoring Astrid entirely. Astrid sat down beside Hiccup and sighed once again. This had been a _long _day. And it wasn't even _beginning _to get dark out.

A few minutes later, Hiccup woke up, blinking a few times before squinting up at Astrid.

"Hey, Sleepy-Head," she teased gently.

"Thanks," said Hiccup. "How long was I sleeping?"

"Ahh, you got a few hours at least," said Astrid. "Not too long, actually. You feeling any better?"

"Yeah, a bit," said Hiccup, making a seesaw motion with one of his hands in a more-or-less type fashion. "I suppose sleeping helped it a lot, huh."

"Yeah, I'm sure it did," said Astrid. "Your Mom stitched the wound while you were sleeping, by the way."

"Where'd she go?" Hiccup asked, gazing around the room, realizing that Valka wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"She went out a few minutes ago to patrol the nest," Astrid explained. "So, yeah, I suppose you and I are alone."

Hiccup had a love-hate relationship with the word "alone."

Alone meant he was safe; yet at the same time, it meant he was by himself. Alone meant he had time to think; yet it also meant he had no one to share his thoughts with. Alone meant lots of positive things, and lots of negative things.

At this time, "alone" meant many. He wanted to be alone to think about what he had just recently learned, but he also wanted to talk to Astrid. Alone so he could sleep, with Astrid so they could talk. Alone so he could forget about everything, with Astrid so he wouldn't. All in all, "alone" was a confusing word for him.

At this point, he decided not to be alone. He sat up, leaning against the wall, Astrid moving over to sit beside him, crossing her legs and sighing. They sat in silence for roughly five minutes before Astrid spoke up.

"So, your mother," she said.

"Yep," said Hiccup.

"How do you feel about it?" asked Astrid.

"Honestly, I don't know," said Hiccup. "I mean...it's cool, but it's so strange to think about."

"I know what you mean," said Astrid. "It's hard to think about. Not strange. _Hard_. Imagine that, Hiccup. Just think about what your Father would do..." She suddenly thought about what she had just said, and gasped. "Oh my goodness, Hiccup!" she shouted, causing Hiccup to jump. "Your _Father_. The Berkians...Hiccup, we've been gone slightly over a day! And no one knows where we are!"

Realization dawned on him, and he smacked his forehead. "Dad's gonna be _so mad_," he said.

"Ah, I think he'll give you a break," said Astrid. "Probably."

"Thank you," said Hiccup.

"No, seriously," said Astrid. "I mean, Hiccup...the only reason we didn't go back to Berk was because you were hurt. And now...you've found your _MOTHER_. Your Mother, Hiccup!"

"I still can't believe it," said Hiccup, leaning back. "All those years, I...I'd thought she had been killed. And now to have her _alive_...moreover, coming back in a little bit...maybe in a few minutes, probably...I just can't...my brain won't compute."

"I don't even know what that means and I agree," said Astrid. They sat in another bout of silence. "So, what are we going to do, Hiccup?"

"About what?" said Hiccup.

"About Drago," said Astrid. "About the entire attack those trapper-whatsits of his said he was planning. A dragon army, was it they said?" She shook her head. "Do you have any idea on what we're going to do?"

"Not even slightly," said Hiccup. "You got any?"

"Nope," said Astrid. "So I guess we should wait here for Valka to get back, huh?"

"Really, do you have a better idea?"

"Nope again."

"That's what I thought."

Suddenly, Toothless and Stormfly jumped to their feet, staring towards the enterance. They growled, baring their teeth towards the mouth of the cave. Hiccup and Astrid looked up, instantly wondering what was going on.

"What was that?" Hiccup whispered.

"I don't know," Astrid whispered back. "But we should probably do something."

Hiccup nodded and tried to stand, but stopped when he suddenly felt dizzy. His injury, not to mention blood loss had done wonders on his well being. Astrid seemed to have noticed, because she moved over and helped him lay down again.

"Stay here," she said, her voice just barely rising above a harsh whisper. "I'm going to go check it out. Whatever you do...don't follow me."

"But Astrid-" Hiccup started.

"No," said Astrid. "Stay here, I'll see what's up. I don't want you to risk getting hurt again." Really, she didn't. She suddenly remembered the sounds of his screams when Valka had removed the arrow from his side...

She stood up, drawing her axe, ready to fight if it came to it. She headed outside of the cave slowly, Stormfly following her, Toothless growling from where he remained in the cave.

Astrid spun in a slow circle, looking around, her eyes scanning for intruders. Right now would be a _really _bad time for Drago or one of his trappers to attack, with Valka gone, even if she was just patrolling the nest.

After what felt like hours (although in reality it had only been about five minutes), Astrid turned around, looking at Stormfly. The dragon had stopped growling, and now looked around as if looking for the threat she sensed only a moment before.

"I don't see anything, girl," said Astrid, sheathing her weapon. As if trying to directly contradict her words, she felt something press over her mouth. Astrid struggled against whoever-it-was' grip, but she wasn't strong enough.

When she finally was able to yank the hand away from her mouth, she managed to scream, "Hiccup, run!" before drawing her axe and whipping around to face the intruder. But she was shocked by who it was.

"Stoick?"

**Yeah, so Stoick found them. :) WELL IT'S ABOUT TIME HE DID, ACTUALLY, NOW THAT I THINK ABOUT IT. He should have been faster! HAHA! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, there should be one or possibly two more. :) Have a great week! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!**


	12. Chapter 12

**I AM SORRY THIS IS REALLY LATE AND I DO NOT HAVE MUCH TIME SO I WILL MAKE IT QUICK:**

**Okay, I will write a thirteenth chapter (For the Dancing and the dreaming) but I just don't know when I will post it exactly. It might take a few weeks, or possibly a month, but I will do it. I don't have much time, and my internet is failing. My e-mail won't load (again, *sigh*), so I have ONE. BIG. Shout-out. **

**YOU. ARE ALL SO INCREDIBLY AMAZING AND INCREDIBLY AWESOME AND THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT EVEN THOUGH I DON'T ALWAYS GIVE YOU SHOUT-OUTS LET ME LET YOU KNOW THAT EVERY SINGLE TIME I SEE A REVIEW (even if it's only a really short one) I PRETTY MUCH DIE SMILING. SO THANK YOU ALL OF YOU AMAZINGLY AWESOME PEOPLE, LOOK FOR THE NEW CHAPTER, I JUST DON'T KNOW WHEN! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! **

**P.S... **

**_Didney Worl. (Only some people will understand it, and do not ask me to explain, please, because I will not be able to do so without dying in laughter. You can look it up, too. :D) _ **

"Stoick?" Astrid said, lowering her weapon and sheathing it.

Stoick? This was confusing.

"Are you kidding me?" said Astrid. Part of her was utterly relieved, while the other part was entirely confused. "How did you get here? How did you find us?"

"We tracked you," Stoick said. "Or, the dragons did, at least. Where's Hiccup?"

"Inside here," said Astrid, gesturing to the opening behind her. Stoick marched inside, and Astrid saw the second companion Stoick had brought with him.

"Gobber?" she said. The blacksmith nodded. Astrid and him both turned and followed Stoick.

Hiccup sat up the instant his father came in the room. And another instant later, he regretted it. His vision swam as he fought to stay upright and, at the same time, hide his pain from Gobber and Stoick.

"Hiccup!" said Stoick, racing over to him, followed closely by Astrid and Gobber.

"Dad?" Hiccup asked. This was weird. "What...what are you doing here?"

"Looking for you, what else would we be doing?" said Stoick. "What happened? You two have been gone for a long time, now."

"Yeah, I know, and I'm sorry about that," said Hiccup.

"What happened?" Stoick repeated. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," said Hiccup, although he clearly wanted to scream the exact opposite. His wound burned, and his head pounded to some invisible drumbeat. Trying to ignore it as best he could, and also hide it from his father, he managed to get out, "How did you find us?"

"They tracked us with their dragons," said Astrid, answering for Stoick.

"We've been worried like mad, Hiccup," said Stoick.

"I'm sorry that we didn't come back sooner, Dad," Hiccup started. "I just got a little caught up, and..." Hiccup suddenly thought of Valka. His Dad didn't know his wife was alive...how would he react? Did Hiccup want to know? Well, of course he did. Curiosity was another one of Hiccup's good/bad traits. "Dad, there's something you need to know," said Hiccup.

"Of course," said Stoick. "I want you two-" He gestured to both Hiccup and Astrid "-to both tell me what happened, as soon as we get back to Berk."

"But this is important!" said Astrid.

"She's right!" said Hiccup. "We can't exactly..._talk about it when we get back to Berk_. We have to talk about it...now. Right now."

"Then tell me on the way," said Stoick. "We're leaving."

"Of course, Dad, but wait!" Hiccup stood up quickly, trying to follow his father, but he really shouldn't have. His vision blurred, his head swimming, the pain in his side practically _begging _him to sit down again. He swayed sideways and leaned against Toothless, trying to (at least) remain standing.

"Hiccup!" said Stoick, taking hold of Hiccup's arm to steady him.

"I'm alright," said Hiccup. "Just a little dizzy."

"Hiccup, lay back down, now," said Astrid. "You're not fit to get up."

Hiccup nodded and sank to the ground again, leaning up against Toothless. Then, Stoick noticed the different cloths fit to be bandages wrapped around Hiccup's middle.

"Hiccup, what happened?" said Stoick.

"Nothing too bad," said Hiccup.

"He was shot with an arrow," said Astrid.

"What!?" said Stoick.

"Yeah, that's about it," said Hiccup. "But Dad, I have to tell you something important-"

"Start with how you got shot," said Stoick.

"Whatever!" said Hiccup. "Astrid and I were flying, we came across this weird ice thing, we ran into these trappers that said they were trapping dragons for some guy named...ah...Dargo Bluddyfist, or something. Said he was putting together this..._dragon army._ And when we were escaping, I was shot, and-"

"_Drago Bludvist?" _Stoick asked.

"Yeah...wait, you know him?" said Astrid.

"Yes," said Stoick. "And if he's putting together a dragon army...we're in trouble. Serious trouble."

"But Dad, there's something else!" said Hiccup.

"Hiccup, we have to leave, even if I have to carry you," said Stoick.

"_Daaaad_," Hiccup groaned.

"Come on," said Stoick. "We're leaving. Now."

"Wait a minute!" said Hiccup. "You have to know something! It's important, Dad!"

"Add it to the pile, we'll talk on the way," said Stoick.

"This isn't a sort of..._on the way _kind of update, actually," said Hiccup. "It's more of a life shattering realization!"

"Hiccup's right!" said Astrid.

"We'll talk on the way," said Stoick.

"Oh for the love of..." Hiccup groaned. "Dad, would you just listen to me?"

"Hiccup," they heard a voice from above. Instantly, everyone silenced themselves and watched as a dragon landed, the rider dismounting.

If there was one word to describe what Stoick was feeling, it was this: confusion. Confusion. Was this really who he thought she was? Valka? Was it possible?

Valka stared back at him, wondering first how he had found them, but not wondering for very long before thinking about what she should say. What _could _she say to someone she had abandoned for twenty years? She opened her mouth, and just said the first thing on her mind:

"I know what you're gonna say, Stoick. How could I have done this? Stayed away all these years, and why haven't I come back to you? To our son? Well, what sign did I have, that you could change? That _anyone _on Berk could? I pleaded, so many times to stop the fighting, to find another answer, but did any of you listen?"

"This is why I never married," said Gobber.

"I know I left you to raise Hiccup alone," said Valka, "but I thought he'd be better off without me. And I was wrong, I see that now, but..." All this time, Stoick only stared in awe, wondering what he could say; what Valka would say next. "Oh, stop being so stoic, Stoick!" said Valka, her tone almost pleading with him. "Go on, shout, scream! Say something!"

Stoick silenced her by cupping her cheek in his palm. Then, he spoke the only words he could find.

"You're as beautiful as the day I lost you," he whispered.

Then he kissed her.

_**So, this is the end of the fanfiction unless you guys think I should write another chapter. It might take a while, though, and I might not update it until after I work on some new stories, so just so you know. I want to know what you think, though. Your opinions are important to me. THANKS! :D **_


	13. Chapter 13

**OKAY OKAY OKAY I just wanted to tell everyone that this story will be updated at RANDOM. I will not tell you when I will update this story next, but it probably won't be for another few weeks. This story is one of "those" stories that is giving me a hard time, but yet making me continue. :) So, enjoy this chapter while you wait for the next update. Happy New Year! (it's in a few days, but still!) :D Enjoy! :D**

"Where have they been?" said Snotlout. "It's been so boring."

"I know, right?" said Fishlegs. "Astrid, and Hiccup are both gone, including Stoick and Gobber."

"It's so weird," said Ruffnut. "It's almost unsettling."

"Whoa, what does _that _word mean?" said Tuffnut.

Ruffnut shrugged. "I don't know," she said. "I heard it from Hiccup."

"Well, at least you used it in the proper context," said Fishlegs.

"My what?" said Ruffnut.

"Nevermind," said Fishlegs. "What should we do? I need an idea."

"I have an idea!" said Snotlout.

"No, Snotlout, he meant a _good _idea," said Ruffnut.

Snotlout glared at her and rolled his eyes. "Fine," he said. "If you don't want to hear a plan that could get us out of this mess."

"For one," said Fishlegs, "we are NOT in a mess. And for another, what's your idea?"

"Well, Hiccup is my cousin, right?" said Snotlout. The others nodded. "Meaning that Stoick is my uncle." The others nodded again. "Meaning also that if something happened to Hiccup, I would be the heir. And if then something happened to Stoick, I would be chief, and since-"

"Snotlout, just cut to the chase!" said Fishlegs.

"Okay," said Snotlout. "With Hiccup gone, and Stoick gone as well, then I guess that makes me the acting Chief!"

"Oh no, we're doomed," Ruffnut groaned.

"Now hang on a minute!" said Snotlout, cutting her off before she finished her complaint (or another one began). "As acting Chief, I can order you guys around."

"How is this a plan?" Fishlegs questioned.

"I can order you guys to go and look for Hiccup, Stoick, Astrid and Gobber!" said Snotlout.

"You know, Snotlout," said Fishlegs, "we would have gone _willingly_. You really don't need to be acting Chief in order to talk us into saving our friends."

"Oh," said Snotlout, frowning. "Yeah, well, there's that too, but that just seems too simple."

"Okay," said Fishlegs, facepalming. "So we will go look for them. When do we leave?"

"Now," said Snotlout. "In secret, that way no one looks for us."

"Well, they'll still look for us, maybe," said Ruffnut.

"But it's not like they'll miss us," said Tuffnut. "Ha ha, I like it! Let's do it!" The twins jumped on their dragons a fistpumped.

"Yeah!" they shouted in unison.

"Okay okay, shhh, keep your voices down!" said Snotlout. "We are supposed to be doing this in secret."

"Oh, right, sorry," said Tuffnut. Pause. "What does secret mean again? Sorry, I forgot."

"Nevermind," said Snotlout. "Let's just go."

They mounted their dragons, and then headed off, not knowing exactly where they were heading, or where to head in general. They flew straight, in the same direction, not going even an inch to the left or right.

"What are we looking for?" said Tuffnut. "What if Hiccup, Astrid, Stoick and Gobber are in trouble, or something?"

"We'll look for anything unnatural," said Snotlout.

"Um...does _that _count as unnatural?" Fishlegs asked, pointing to the left.

"What are you...oh," said Snotlout. "What _is _that?"

"It looks like...an armada," said Fishlegs. He gasped. "Wait...an armada?"

"Let's check it out," said Tuffnut. "And if it turns out it has to be something we need to worry about, we'll blow it up!"

"Ugh," said Fishlegs. "Let's just go."

They headed in the direction of the ships; battle ships. That's what they were. And there were over fifty of them, complete with men on the decks, hollering to their comrades to do different chores.

"Stay low," said Snotlout. And so they did, heading straight towards the ships.

Unfortunately, the whole "stay low" principal didn't exactly, per say, "cover it."

"FIRE!" people on the ships shouted. Before the dragon riders could even begin to maneuver their dragons into an opposite direction, bolas were fired. They couldn't dodge in time, either. Snotlout tried, but failed. Tuffnut and Ruffnut tried, but failed. Fishlegs tried, but failed. The bolas wrapped around the dragons, and then they plummeted towards the ships.

They landed on the ships with a crash. Men charged at them, tying the dragons down while yanking the riders out from the traps' girths.

"HEY!" Snotlout shouted. "What are you doing!? Get your hands off of me!"

"Meatlung!" Fishlegs shouted as his dragon, and the others, were shot with tranquilizer darts. The dragons stopped struggling, falling to the ground with thuds and moans.

"Uncool," Tuffnut shouted. "NOT COOL, DUDES! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"

Instead of answering, the crowd of soldiers parted into a sort of hallway, making way for two men. One of them was tall, with long, black hair, and the other was slightly on the shorter side, walking briskly behind the man to keep up with him.

"Dragon riders," the black haired one spoke. He turned to the shorted one, and approached. The shorter one cowered, people moving out of his way. "You said there were only two!" the first one shouted. "And now...there are six. How many are there really, Eret!?"

"An entire island!" Snotlout spoke up, not so sure why he did so. "An _entire _island full of dragon riders! We are only few of them!"

"Yeah!" Tuffnut agreed. "Tons of them back on Berk, though!"

"BERK!?" the first one shouted.

"It's no problem, Drago!" Eret stepped forward. "I assure you, my men will work on it!"

"I don't want you to assure me anything," said Drago. "You call yourself a dragon trapper. You are the exact opposite." He grabbed Eret and threw him across the deck of the ship. "Lock them up!" Drago shouted. "All of them! NOW! First, we march on the nest, and then..." He cackled. "We march...on BERK!"


	14. Chapter 14

**So guess who finally found inspiration for writing another chapter for this fic? That's right, 'tis I, BeyondTheClouds777. As I mentioned in previous A/Ns, this story is updated at RANDOM. Entirely at random, since I'm trying to figure out what to do with it. *shrugs* If anyone else is wondering, I'm continuing this story to the end of HTTYD2, so you all know. :) Aaaaanywaaaays, enjoy chapter 14, I'll try to update sooner than later! BYE! :D **

Valka hadn't been expecting company.

The first day she found Hiccup and Astrid, she hadn't been expecting them. And now having Stoick and Gobber show up was even more of a surprise.

Astrid and Hiccup sat side by side, watching as Valka, Stoick and Gobber tried to work in the makeshift kitchen. Of course, none of them were very good. Hiccup winced when one of them dropped a platter on the ground, leaving Cloudjumper and Toothless to share what it had once carried.

He looked at Astrid and shrugged. She smiled back. She was utterly relieved that he had more color in his face, and all around looked better than he had the first day they had met Valka. Of course, he still wasn't completely well, but at least he wasn't in a life threatening situation anymore.

"I'm a..." Valka started, and then laughed nervously. "A-a little out of practice."

"Ah, well, you know," said Stoick, "I didn't marry you for you cooking."

"I would think not," said Gobber. "Her cooking could kill more dragons than a battle axe."

Astrid couldn't help but laugh.

"But Dad," said Hiccup, "what about Drago? And the trappers? They're...building a dragon army. Is there...is there something we can do?"

"Not yet, Hiccup," said Valka. She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Ah, that Drago has been trying to hunt this nest ever since I got here, and quite possibly before that. But I don't think he's found it quite yet...or, at least I hope he hasn't. And Hiccup, we can't really do anything until you've gained some more strength."

"I'm _fine_," said Hiccup.

"Nah, you still look rather pale, lad," said Gobber offhandedly. "If I were you, I'd try to relax for at least a _few _minutes without worrying about the future. That's what you should be doing, Hiccup, instead of worrying."

"He's right, Hiccup," said Astrid. "You lost a lot of blood."

"Now's not the time to fight Drago, son," said Stoick. "But when it is, I promise you all this; I will make him pay for what he did to you. No one gets to just strike an arrow into my son without facing the consequences."

"You bet they don't," said Gobber. "I have a fair few things to say to those trappers, should I ever meet them. I might not be your father, Hiccup, but I am your mentor. I know you quite possibly better than you know yourself, you know."

"And then there's me," said Valka. "And you know what, if ever I find that trapper who gave you that wound, I will-"

Hiccup threw his hands up in surrender and laughed. He actually _laughed_. "Thanks, guys, you're the best," he said. He was so relieved he had so many people caring about him and for him, he couldn't help but release the giddy laughs he had held in since the conversation started. "But like you said," he went on, "now's not the time to be worrying about war."

"That much is right," said Astrid.

"Although I do think you're recovering very well, Hiccup," said Valka. "It'll probably be a few more days until you're _completely _back to your old self, but by how fast you're recovering already, I'd say it might not even be that long. But I do have a question; on a scale of one to ten, what is the urge to pass out?"

"Um...four?" said Hiccup. "_Maaaaybe _five? I can't exactly put my finger on it."

"Uh-huh," said Valka. "And what was the number yesterday?"

"Probably a nine," said Hiccup. "Somethin' like that, I don't know exactly. I wasn't conscious for a lot of it. But yeah, we shouldn't worry anymore, because when you move into Berk with all of your dragons...Drago won't even _think _about attacking!"

Valka winced.

"Slow down, son," said Stoick gently. "It's a lot to take in."

"Oh, gotcha," said Hiccup, sounding slightly disappointed.

The others turned to Valka as she turned away, setting a vase of water underneath a small, trickling stream pouring from the ice that made up the cave.

He hesitated, and then started whistling.

"Ooh, I love this one," Gobber breathed. Hiccup and Astrid both stared at him for a moment, before returning their focus to Stoick as he approached Valka. Valka remained with his back to him, and if he would have seen her face, he would have seen shock, yet at the same time, relief.

"Do you remember our song, Val?" said Stoick. And then he sang. "I'll swim and sail on savage seas," he said. "With ne'er a fear of drowning. And gladly ride the waves of life, if you will marry me."

There was a slight moment of hesitation. Astrid turned to Hiccup, and he looked back at her. He was grinning like crazy.

"No scorching sun," said Stoick, "not freezing cold, will-"

"Will stop me on my jour..." Gobber butted in, and then trailed off when he caught everyone glaring at him. "-ney," he finished lamely. "Sorry."

Hiccup looked at him, and Astrid punched Gobber's forearm.

Stoick sighed, and then adverted his gaze back to Valka. "If you will promise me your heart," he sang softly, taking her hand in his own. He paused, waiting for her to react in some way. "And love..." he tried, and then still received no response. He turned his head, staring down at his feet, giving up, until he heard Valka sing back to him.

"And love me for eternity," she said softly. Then, taking a shuddering breath, she continued, "My dearest one, my darling dear, your mighty works astound me. But I've no need of mighty deeds when I feel your arms around me."

"But I will bring you rings of gold and even sing you poetry," Stoick went on.

"Oh would you?" Valka laughed.

"..,and I would keep you from all harm! If you would stay beside me!" said Stoick.

"I'll have no use for rings of gold, I care not for your poetry!" Valka sang, a smile forming on her face. "I only want your hand to hold..."

"...I only want you near me," said Stoick.

Then, the duo began singing in perfect unison, "To love and kiss to sweetly hold for the dancing and the dreaming." Behind them, Hiccup was tapping his foot to the rhythm of the music while Astrid was clapping her hands together with the same consistency.

"Through all life's sorrows and delights I'll keep your love inside me!" Valka and Stoick sang together.

Gobber stood up, grabbed Astrid's arm, and then yanked her into a short, ten second dance. Hiccup laughed as Astrid was swung around awkwardly for a few moments before Gobber finally released her, sending her tumbling back towards Hiccup, who couldn't control his laughter.

"I'll swim and sail on savage seas, with ne'er a few of drowning," said Stoick and Valka, still in sync and perfect tune, "and gladly ride the waves of life, if you will marry me!"

They both broke out laughing, followed shortly by Hiccup, Astrid and Gobber.

"I thought I'd have to die before we had that dance again," said Stoick, breathless.

"No need for drastic measures," said Valka.

"For you, my dear, anything," said Stoick. "Will you come home, Val? Be my wife again?"

Hiccup and Astrid exchanged glances before they looked back at the two people before them.

It only took a moment's hesitation before Valka smiled and said one simple word that meant more than any other word could have expressed.

"Yes."


End file.
